Civil-Military Fusion Centre Closes

Senior Chief Mass Communication Specialist Hendrick L. DicksonPublished on 06 December 2013

The centre synonymous for leading the free-
flow of information between civilian and military entities and its holistic approach toward knowledge sharing closed its doors
November 30, 2013.
For the past five years, NATO's Civil-Military Fusion Centre (CFC), which was located on the campus of Old Dominion
University in Norfolk, Virginia, facilitated the exchange of knowledge between civilian and military actors working on complex
crises. Those duties have now transitioned wholly to the Comprehensive Crisis and Operations Management Centre (CCOMC) of
Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) in Mons, Belgium.
The CFC started as an experiment at NATO Allied Command Transformation (ACT) in 2006 and became operational January
28, 2008. For the past five years, CFC desk officers have researched, written and published weekly reports, hundreds of Requests
for Information (RFI) responses and a sizeable collection of in-depth thematic reports covering issues pertaining to governance
and rule of law, security, economic development, socio-cultural development and humanitarian relief in crisis-affected areas
around the world.
ACT, which is the only permanent NATO headquarters outside Europe command, facilitates and advocates continuous
improvement within the Alliance. While at face value, this closure may appear to be a failure, it in fact is a success for ACT and
its writ forging the future of NATO's operational capability.
"It (CFC) has not been closed because it wasn't doing any good. It has been closed because it was a success," said Royal Danish
Navy Commander Joergen Jessen, CFC Director since 2011. "The experiment was such a success that SHAPE wanted to
continue to fund it and move it within their own parameters."
"It demonstrates the impact of ACT and that ACT can develop tangible, usable products," Commander Joergen said. "This was
an example of something tangible that can be used by the soldiers in the field, among staff at MODs (Ministries of Defence), and
also among the civilian users. It says that ACT is not only developing concepts and tools, but also tangible effects that can be
used directly in the operational field."
Over the years, the centre has also employed more than 100 civilians from 17 different countries with backgrounds in
humanitarian relief, academia and other fields. It is this diversity that helped make the CFC successful.
"What they bought to NATO was the view of others because we don't normally have that view and you're not normally being
challenged," said Jessen. "I'm very proud of being able to be part of the CFC and take it into the SHAPE-era. I think what we did
will be part of a solution to all major future conflicts because it directly talks into the gap between the civil-military world which
is so important to understand each side just the awareness of what each side and do for each other. It is very important."
The CFC has a robust following of more than 8,000 subscribers from non-governmental and international organisations,
academia, think tanks, military and governmental agencies. More than 50,000 anonymous users visit CIMICWEB each month.
The CFC knowledge sharing portal www.cimicweb.org will remain online during 2014 allowing access to historical material.