Marshall Center heads transnational civil security seminar in Poland
By German 1st Lt. Stefan Marks
George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies
WARSAW (Sept. 24, 2015) – The George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies Seminar on Transnational Civil Security, Hybrid Warfare and Event Protection, kicked off Wednesday at the National Defense University (Akademia Obrony Narodowej) in Warsaw, Poland.
The seminar opened with remarks by Lieutenant General Marek Tomaszycki Commander of the Command Operational Polish Armed Forces. Tomasz Siemoniak is the Minister of National Defence of the Polish Armed Forces.
The Commander was followed by the NDU Rector-Commandant Col. Prof. Dariusz Kozerawski and Dr. Graeme Herd, the Marshall Center’s faculty lead for the seminar. Additional opening remarks were made by Rolf Nikel, the German ambassador to Poland, and John Law, Charge d’Affaires of the Embassy of the United States of America in Warsaw.
During the two-day seminar, more than 100 participants from various Ministries of the Republic of Poland will have the chance to hear from international experts to help prepare for the 2016 NATO Summit, which will be held in Warsaw.
Todd Rosenblum, who was the U.S. acting assistant secretary and principal deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Americas Security Affairs, and who is now responsible for IBM’s Global Business Development, shares the experiences he gained from a large number of U.S. National Special Security events.
Lt. Col. Troy Scott, deputy director for Domestic Operations at the Illinois National Guard Joint Headquarters, and Lt. Col. Huw Morgan, Joint Regional Liaison Officer, British Army in Northern Ireland, present comparative case studies on the Chicago NATO 2012 Summit and the 2013 G8 Summit in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
They were followed by Brett Lovegrove, former Head of Counter Terrorism for the City of London Police, now CEO of the Security and Resilience Network covering the UK and Australia, and Managing Director of Valentis Bridge Ltd., presenting a Police Perspective on Soft Target Protection.
Day two of the seminar is marked by Polish Case Studies about Hybrid Warfare and the lessons learned from the 19th Session of the Conference of the Parties Warsaw, 2013 and syndicate discussions led by Scott, Brig. Gen. Michael Zerbonia, Land Forces Component commander for the Illinois National Guard, and Col. Dariusz Majchrzak, associate professor at the National Defense University.
The Seminar is combined with a Marshall Center Alumni Outreach Networking Event Sept. 23, which will bring together Marshall Center Alumni attending the Seminar and other Alumni from the Polish Marshall Center Alumni Association.