1. The military officer of our times: a leader, a warfighter and a specialist, but as well an analyst and a LL proponent
Generals, Admirals, Ladies and Gentlemen, Good Day to you.
It is a pleasure and an honour for me to be here with you today and to have the opportunity to present the Joint Analysis and Lessons Learned Centre’s role and my views on the essential and urgent need to improve the analysis education provided to our future officers.
June 2015
Brigadier-General Mircea MÎNDRESCU (ROU-A)
Commander Joint Analysis & Lessons Learned Centre
28 November 2018
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2. Agenda : A JALLC intro JALLC 101
: LL capability and the Officer’s role
: Analysis as the key element of the LL capability
: Analysis: An asset; a weapon for the Officer
: Wrap up
JALLC 101
Lessons Learned
Analysis Education
Analysis an Asset
Agenda
My words to you today will be brief and to the point.
I simply hope to introduce you to the capability NATO has to support analysis and lessons learned, which is vested in my centre, the Joint Analysis and Lessons Learned Centre or JALLC as we call it. And in doing so to describe how JALLC achieves its mission for the Alliance. (This is JALLC 101 section)
Then to share with you one of the greatest challenges I face as Commander JALLC, which is a lack of adequately educated, trained and experienced military analysts with which to perform my core business. (This is Lessons Learned and Analysis Education sections)
Finally I wish to explain the advantages of having more extensive analysis education and training for our officers. I believe we will need officers to be more analytically minded than ever if they are to lead an effective Alliance response to any one of the wide range of the security challenges we expect to face in the future. (This is JALLC Analysis an Asset section)
This slide is only for animation – transition purpose
Conclusion
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3. Agenda : A JALLC intro JALLC 101
: LL capability and the Officer’s role
: Analysis as the key element of the LL capability
: Analysis: An asset; a weapon for the Officer
: Wrap up
JALLC 101
Lessons Learned
Analysis Education
Analysis an Asset
This slide is only for animation – transition purpose
Conclusion
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4. Joint Analysis & Lessons Learned Centre (JALLC)
JALLC Mission
HQ Supreme Allied Commander Transformation (HQ SACT)
Joint Force Training Centre (JFTC)
JALLC is NATO's centre for performing Joint Analysis of operations, training, exercises and experimentation. It supports the exchange of Lessons Learned and facilitates the development of Lessons Learned Capabilities, reinforcing the continuous transformation and modernisation of NATO's forces and capabilities.
Joint Warfare Centre (JWC)
NATO HQ
Joint Analysis & Lessons Learned Centre (JALLC)
JALLC Mission
So, what is the JALLC? In September 2002, JALLC was activated as a NATO military body located in Lisbon Portugal.
The JALLC is one of three Joint Centres that reinforce the continuous transformation and modernization of NATO’s forces and capabilities as part of Allied Command Transformation.
The JALLC works in accordance with its mission and a bi-annual Programme of Work agreed by NATO’s two Strategic Commands: HQ SACT and SHAPE to:
Perform Joint Analysis;
Support the exchange of Lessons Learned; and
Facilitate the development of Lessons Learned Capabilities.
Before I tell you about my struggles as Commander JALLC, I’d like to tell you a little more about how JALLC achieves its mission.
Colors Legend:
NATO Nations
Partnership for Peace (PfP)
Mediterranean Dialogue (MD)
Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI)
Partners around the Globe (PatG)
Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers in Europe (SHAPE)
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JALLC 101
Lessons Learned
Analysis Education
Analysis an Asset
Conclusion

5. Perform Joint Analysis
80% of JALLC resources are allocated to Joint Analysis
Impacting:
Doctrine
Concepts
Policies
Procedures
Training
Perform Joint Analysis
Our first task is to perform Joint Analysis. JALLC is NATO’s Lead Agent for Joint Analysis and as such Joint Analysis consumes 80% of JALLC’s resources.
Since JALLC was activated 13 years ago, NATO has already benefited from over 150 high quality analysis reports investigating the most pressing issues for the Alliance and setting out clear recommendations for NATO’s transformation.
Over the years, JALLC reports have focused on exercises, transformation and operations with a total of 29% of JALLC’s analysis being ISAF-related.
JALLC reports impact: Doctrine, Concepts, Policies, Procedures and Training. For example, JALLC’s reports have been used to support development of NATO’s Concept for Ballistic Missile Defence Command and Control, to improve the quality of scenarios for Joint Task Force Headquarters exercises and to inform NATO policy on information sharing with non-NATO entities.
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JALLC 101
Lessons Learned
Analysis Education
Analysis an Asset
Conclusion

6. Support The Exchange of Lessons Learned
Task two in our mission is to support to the exchange of lessons learned. JALLC has created and maintains the NATO Lessons Learned Portal for this purpose. The Portal is not just for JALLC it is a NATO-wide tool.
The NATO Lessons Learned Portal serves as a single centralized tool for sharing lessons relevant to the Alliance. It is also a place to exchange ideas, announce events and share information within the Lessons Learned Community.
The Portal provides a one-stop shop to access the lessons held by the NATO Centres of Excellence.
The Portal also supports the establishment of lessons learned sharing Communities of Interest which allow users with common interests to share lessons in a way that works best for them.
For example the recently established EXTRA Portal is a NATO Lessons Learned Portal Community of Interest dedicated to bringing all of NATO’s exercise reporting and lessons together in an easily accessible way.
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JALLC 101
Lessons Learned
Analysis Education
Analysis an Asset
Conclusion

7. Facilitate The Development of Lessons Learned Capabilities
~ LL Training ~
NATO Lessons Learned Staff Officer’s Course
NATO LL OPR Online Training Course
JALLC Analyst’s Training Course
~ JALLC Advisory and Training Team ~
JATT provides mentorship, advice and tailored LL training to improve LL capabilities of NATO entities and Nations, and Partner Nations
~ JALLC’s Specialist Publications ~
NATO LL Handbook
Joint Analysis Handbook
~ Annual NATO LL Conference ~
Facilitate the Development of Lessons Learned Capabilities
Third and finally, JALLC’s mission involves the facilitation of the development of lessons learned capabilities. This aspect of JALLC’s work consists of four main activities:
1. Provision of Lessons Learned training through the Lessons Learned Staff Officer’s Course several times a year, the newly created Lessons Learned Officer of Primary Responsibility Online Course available through NATO’s Advanced Distributed Learning system and our internal JALLC analyst’s course which we open to external candidates as space allows.
2. Outreach activities performed by the JALLC Advisory and Training Team, which responds to call for assistance from NATO, national and partner entities requiring specialist help to improve their Lessons Learned capabilities.
3. JALLC’s specialist publications which provide a wide audience access to JALLC’s best practices for lessons learned and joint analysis.
And, 4. the annual NATO Lessons Learned Conference which JALLC hosts and which sees over 200 delegates descend on Lisbon each year to share their wealth of knowledge on lessons learned with each other.
In summary, JALLC is achieving a lot, so what is it that I’m complaining about? Please let me start with some context.
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JALLC 101
Lessons Learned
Analysis Education
Analysis an Asset
Conclusion 7

8. The Lessons Learned Process
ANALYSIS
Understand root causes
Propose:
Remedial Actions to resolve the problem
Action Body to implement the Remedial Action LL LI
PORTAL
Analysis Phase
OBSERVATION
Observe and document:
Problem
Procedure
Best practice
Remedial Action Phase
VALIDATION
Verify results
IMPLEMENTATION
& MONITORING
Action body:
Prepares Action Plan
Implements Remedial Actions
Reports progress
Tasking authority:
Monitors progress
L E S S O N I D E N T I F I E D
Commander’s Guidance
Improved
Capability
OBS
L E S S O N
L E A R N E D
DISSEMINATION
Post
Publish
Promote
SHARE
ENDORSEMENT
& TASKING
Command:
Endorses Remedial Actions
Commits resources
Tasks an Action body
The Lessons Learned Process
What you see on this slide is NATO’s lessons learned process, but it could equally be any organization’s lessons learned process. We intuitively know how to learn as individuals. It’s a basic instinct we’re born with, but for organizations to learn, a procedure is necessary to help the organization turn individual learning into organizational learning.
This is made clear in NATO’s Joint Doctrine for Operations, which states that:
“The purpose of a Lessons Learned procedure is to learn efficiently from experience and to provide validated justifications for amending the existing way of doing things, in order to improve performance, both during the course of an operation and for subsequent operations. This requires lessons to be meaningful and for them to be brought to the attention of the appropriate authority able and responsible for dealing with them. It also requires the chain of command to have a clear understanding of how to prioritise lessons and how to staff them.”(AJP-3(B) Allied Joint Doctrine for the Conduct of Operations)
Note that analysis supports and underpins the entire organizational learning process.
VALIDATE
Bi-SCD , 10 July 2013
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JALLC 101
Lessons Learned
Analysis Education
Analysis an Asset
Conclusion

9. Contemporary Officers Officer’s Role in the Lessons Learned Process
The Officer’s Role
Contemporary Officers
Military’s Executive Board
To Lead and to Manage
Officer’s Role in the Lessons Learned Process
Junior
Feed
Major
Drive
Senior
Lead
The Officer’s Role
Note also the role of the officer in this process.
Officers in a military organization are equivalent to the members of the executive board of a corporation.
The complexity of contemporary military organizations requires officers who not only lead but manage. The contemporary officer must be both a leader and a manager.
In the lessons learned process, junior officers feed in verified and well thought out lessons, major officers must drive organizational change and senior officers must lead the entire effort. Without all of these officers playing their role the process will fail to deliver.
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JALLC 101
Lessons Learned
Analysis Education
Analysis an Asset
Conclusion

10. Identified Areas for Improvement
Officer’s without sufficient experience in analysis
Low level of leadership engagement
Low level of stakeholders engagement
Increased effort in officers’ analysis education is required
Identified Areas for Improvement
So, the lessons learned process depends entirely on analysis and officers, yet I’m struggling to find high quality military analysts to man my centre.
I’m also observing low levels of leadership and stakeholder engagement. And as a good analyst, I’m asking myself why?
It seems to me that our military education process is failing to adequately prepare officers for their modern role.
Officers do not understand how an organization learns and the crucial role that they have to play in that process, and officers have not received an education that has groomed them to be both creative and critical thinkers and provided them with tools and techniques to improve the quality of their thinking.
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JALLC 101
Lessons Learned
Analysis Education
Analysis an Asset
Conclusion

11. Analysis Education Personal Development Organizational Benefit
Professionalism
Self Confidence
Critical Thinking
Creative Thinking
Comprehensiveness
Intellectualism
Social skills
Organizational Benefit
Team work
Problem resolution
Process optimization
Efficiency
Effectiveness
Analysis Education
And it is not just lessons learned that is suffering as a consequence.
The advantages of analysis education are widely recognized both on a personal level and an organizational level.
Officers with good analysis education are better problem solvers, better thinkers, able to think outside the box for solutions, able to process large quantities of information and able to make more well-informed decisions.
Consequently the organization benefits from improved team work, faster and cheaper problem resolution and optimized processes. We can do more with less.
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JALLC 101
Lessons Learned
Analysis Education
Analysis an Asset
Conclusion

12. Military Decision Making Process
Analysis: An Asset
Analyse the Problem
Identify ….
………..
Analysis
Problem Solving
Leading Troops
Military Decision Making Process
OODA Loop
Operational Planning
Initiation
Problem and Mission Analysis
Course of Action (COA) development
……..
Receive and analyse the order
Make initial Plan
………..
Observe
Orient (analyse …..)
Decide
……..
Analysis an Asset
Analysis is a critical asset for a military organization. Analysis is the first step in most core military processes. Consider Problem Solving, Leading Troops, Military Decision Making Process, OODA Loop and Operational Planning to name a few.
Contemporary officers have to be professionals and professionalism comes through the application of military science. Modern leadership should be based both on military science as well as art.
Decisions must be supported by analytical processes. Leaders must make better use of real data, evidence and information to take military decisions.
Analysis is an essential asset for improving the quality of the decision making processes. Officers educated and trained in analysis skills and techniques are essential to modern warfare.
Initiation
Mission Analysis
COA development
……..
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JALLC 101
Lessons Learned
Analysis Education
Analysis an Asset
Conclusion

13. Conclusion
“The nation that will insist on drawing a broad line of demarcation between the fighting man and the thinking man is liable to find its fighting done by fools and its thinking done by cowards”
Thucydides
Conclusion
Sadly, I’m not the first person to recognize the need for the thinking man in the military organization, because I’d like to claim the credit.
What is clear to me though, as Commander JALLC—commander of a military entity that is all about thinking—is that our military officers’ education should be more focused on thinking skills and analysis if we are to enact Thucydides’ wise words.
Image:
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JALLC 101
Lessons Learned
Analysis Education
Analysis an Asset
Conclusion

14. The JALLC Analysis Reports NATO LL Portal NATO LL Conference Handbooks
NATO LL Conference
Handbooks
10-12 November 2015
The JALLC
Rather than finish at “The End”, I shall leave you with “The JALLC”. Are there any questions or comments please? I thank you for your attention.
Joint Analysis
Lessons Learned
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JALLC 101
Lessons Learned
Analysis Education
Analysis an Asset
Conclusion

15. NATO’s Lead Agent for Joint Analysis
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