NATO officers conduct first ever CIMIC training in Morocco

By U.S. Air Force Capt. Virgil Magee
SHAPE/PIO

AGADIR, Morocco – The Kingdom of Morocco with its cultural history going back a millennia, recently hosted its first ever Civil Military Cooperation, also known as CIMIC, training course for the Moroccan military, April 4-7, in the coastal city of Agadir.

The forty students, level 2nd Lt. to Lt. Col., learned about the different organizations within NATO, its current operations and the implementation of the alliance’s CIMIC doctrine as it is applied on the international stage.

“Our officers are increasingly working in the international environment,” said one senior Moroccan Army officer. “We are engaged in several theaters so we want to understand the NATO way.”

Moroccan troops are currently serving with NATO forces in areas such as Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo. They are also serving in several locations within Africa.

The CIMIC staff, consisting of officers from Belgium, Canada, Italy and the United States, has already conducted training in Hungary and the Czech Republic and has plans to do more training with other nations in the future.

The courses aim is to enable NATO and national officers and senior non-commissioned officers to effectively implement CIMIC activities with civil authorities.

During the sessions the students undertook practiced what they learned during a pre-developed scenario in which they had to figure out amongst themselves how to best implement the building of a society.

“This is the first step of many for this program,” said Belgian Army Maj. Jacques Tigny, course director. “Once students are trained they will have the basic skills to support their commanders and coordinate operations with civil agencies and organizations.”

CIMIC is organized into strategic and tactical sessions. The Moroccan military received the strategic portion during this session and have already requested tactical version.

The course, given entirely in French and Arabic, included areas such as crisis response operations, functional planning, environmental issues, media relations and mission analysis.

The most enthusiastic portion of the course came when students where put into a fictional scenario to practice media relations. “This is something new for them,” said U.S. Army Reserve Maj. Peter Buotte. “They had a great time learning and where very eager.”

CIMIC has proven to be an integral component of military operations, and is essential to winning the 'hearts and minds' of local populations. Military commanders and personnel and the civilian authorities work together to support stabilization and reconstruction.

The primarily, tasks of the course was to teach how to be civil-military liaisons, developing relationships and providing support to the civilian environment.

Students also where briefed in detail on the cooperation with non-governmental organizations and other agencies.

Upon completion of the course students where presented with certificates of completion from their leadership and the CIMIC team.