Read more: JCBRN Defence COE received Unconditional Quality Assurance Accreditation

JCBRN Defence COE received NATO's highest grade in its assessment by the ACT Quality Assessment Team of Experts. The COE met or exceeded the minimum criteria in all assessment areas, therefore ACT Joint Force Trainer, Vice Admiral Javier Gonzalez-Huix, ESP-N, announced on 4 Dec 14 that JCBRND COE received Unconditional Quality Assurance Accreditation.

Read more: NCT CBRNe Europe

We are invited to participate Non-Conventional Threat (NCT) CBRNe Europe conference in Brussels (12th - 13th February 2015, Brussels, Belgium) and COL Jiri GAJDOS will be there as one of keynote speakers.

The two-day conference and exhibition will again welcome key decision makers and experts in the field of CBRN Defense from all over Central Europe and the Caucasus. Research programs from Horizon2020 to national transformation projects are continuing to strengthen European CBRN Defense and emergency preparedness of civil organizations, gathering huge amounts in order to invest in the most advanced technologies and approaches currently available. However, current conflicts along European borders and the challenge of international terrorism still raise the question, whether the continent is really sufficiently prepared for large scale CBRN incidents and respective treatment and response. Some people on the other side of the Atlantic would say no and demand more awareness concerning non-conventional threats, while several scientific reports admonish that European interoperability in this field is at least in need of improvement.

Read more: Opening ceremony of the NATO CBRN Reach Back Operations Room

November 12, 2014 was a very important day in the history of Joint Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defence Centre of Excellence (JCBRN Defence COE) as the NATO CBRN Reach Back Operations Room was ceremonially opened. Among the distinguished guests were the First Deputy Chief of the General Staff LtGEN Josef BECVAR, a representative of the NATO Weapons of Mass Destruction and Non-Proliferation Centre Mr. Axel ANGELY, the Director of Defence Policy and Strategy Czech Republic Ministry of Defence Mr. Jan JIRES, and Rector of the University of Defence BrigGEN Bohuslav PRIKRYL. Also attending the ceremony were representatives from the JCBRN Defence COE Sponsoring Nations, the NATO International Staff Emerging Security Challenges Division, NATO International Military Staff, as well as representatives from the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic & Armed Forces of the Czech Republic.

Read more: Consequence Management after a CBRN Incident Course (2014)

Consequence Management after a CBRN Incident Course was organized by the Joint CBRN Defence Centre of Excellence and held at Allvet Hotel from 10 to 14 November 2014.

The course was organized under Science for Peace and Security Programme (SPSS). SPSS is a NATO policy tool, founded in 1958, that enhances cooperation and dialogue with all partners. It promotes civil, security-related practical cooperation, and focuses on a growing range of contemporary security challenges, including terrorism, defence against CBRN agents, cyber defence, energy security and environmental concerns, human and social aspects of security.

Read more: Quality Assurance Team of Experts visit to JCBRND COE

A Quality Assurance (QA) Team of experts (TOE) from Allied Command Transformation (ACT) visited JCBRND COE on 3 and 4 November 2014. The aim of the visit was to determine if COE meets the established standards and criteria in education and training.

Referring to Bi-SC 75-7 Education and Individual Training Directive the purpose of QA is “to establish processes and procedures ensuring the highest possible degree of quality for NATO’s E&T while at the same time providing autonomy and flexibility to the institutions involved, to the programmes and modules/courses. It furthermore provides the basis for the coordination between E&T stakeholders and for continuous improvement of transparent E&T quality.