The Chief of Joint Staff (JEMACON in Spanish), Lieutenant General Fernando Garcia Gonzalez-Valerio, attended the Alliance Warfare Development Conference (formerly Chiefs of Transformation Conference - COTC), representing the Defence Staff.
The AWDC is an annual conference organized by ACT -Allied Command Transformation-, which brings together national leaders responsible for Warfare Development in the Alliance, as well as other NATO agencies.
The 2021 edition developed 'The Alliance Warfare Development Agenda', a document that, derived from the 'NATO Warfighting Capstone Concept' aims to guide the development of the Alliance's military capabilities with a 20-year future horizon.
General Gonzalez-Valerio also had the opportunity to visit the facilities of the Joint Force Command Norfolk (JFC-NF) and the Combined Joint Operations from the Sea Centre of Excellence (CJOS COE).
The JFC-NF, an operational level headquarters under SHAPE and belonging to the NATO Command Structure, currently includes 4 Spanish military personnel, a number that will be increased to 7 as of next summer, when a Spanish general officer will assume the duties of Chief of Staff (COS).
The CJOS COE's mission is to support NATO and participating nations in improving their ability to conduct joint-combined operations from the sea in order to meet current and emerging maritime security challenges. The CJOS COE's staff, sponsored by 12 nations, including Spain, includes a Spanish officer.