NATO Logistics Handbook October 1997

Chapter 11: Civil Emergency Planning Civil Support to the Military 1103. Civil emergency planners, nationally and at NATO level, must be fully prepared to support the military in peace, crisis and war. The Alliance's Strategic Concept and the new NATO Concept of Reinforcement place increased reliance on civil resources in general, and transportation resources in particular, to meet military requirements for strategic and operational mobility, and for the sustainment of operational forces. It is therefore important that civil emergency planners are brought in at the earliest possible stage in the preparation of plans in support of Alliance strategy. 1104. To effect the fullest possible cooperation in providing civil support to the military, NATO and national planners should ensure: the development in peacetime of appropriate agreements and arrangements necessary for effective support and cooperation in crisis and war; the review of laws and procedures to enable required support under peacetime conditions; the conclusion of general agreements with Major NATO Commands (MNCs), as appropriate; the identification of bilateral support arrangements that need to be updated; and the improvement in cooperation between civil and military authorities in Host Nation Support (HNS) planning and reinforcement planning. 1105. Ministerial Guidance for CEP 1997/1998, while expanding in detail on the traditional areas of concern, i.e. maintenance of social and economic life and protection of the population, stresses the need for emergency legislation or other arrangements to facilitate, in the context of crisis management, the use of civil resources in support of NATO operations as provided for in the New Strategic Concept. In addition, Ministerial Guidance gives specific recommendations and guidance for the CEP activities related to cooperation between civil and military authorities and the Partnership for Peace (PfP) programme.