Field visit to NATO's Allied Rapid Reaction Corps 

The Strategy and Security Institute visited the Headquarters of NATO’s Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC) on 2 October 2012 while they were on exercise at RAF St Mawgan in order to validate their role within NATO through a crisis management simulation.

HQ ARRC is NATO's primary high readiness headquarters, which not so long ago returned from Kabul. It is a strong multinational headquarters with a mix of civilians and military personnel which trains so it is ready to deploy on missions ranging from disaster relief through stabilisation to full war fighting interventions.

The Institute trip offered the opportunity for staff and students from the University to see how a crisis simulation is conceived, planned, and executed by a major military command. For those involved in the construction of the Institute's own crisis simulations for the MA Applied Security Strategy it was of huge benefit.

The visit was also an opportunity for ARRC to see where academics from the University will be able to contribute to their understanding, planning and implementation at all levels. For example regional experts are able to provide context and local knowledge for military planners while legal experts are able to bring their greater understanding of the legal complexities to a fast-moving scenario add provide legal advice. 

One of the Institute visitors Mike Sanderson, a Lecturer in Law at Exeter said: "Our visit to the NATO ARRC was an exceptional opportunity to gain a practical sense of the scale and complexity of a full-scale military simulation.  Throughout the day we spoke with key military decision makers about their key priorities and concerns leading up to deployment and I can't imagine a better introduction to the practical challenges of military decision-making.  It's easy to talk about decision-making in theory, but when you're part of a simulation involving nearly a thousand military personnel the real challenges of field coordination and logistics become very quickly apparent."

Daniel Hunt, a 3rd year Politics undergraduate, also enjoyed the visit and had his eyes opened by visiting a large headquarters in operation: "As a 20-year-old undergraduate and prospective Army officer one could say I was somewhat apprehensive that visiting HQ ARRC on a NATO Simulation would be my first experience of a military exercise! However the trip was extremely interesting and very revealing as to the complexity of strategic decision making at such a high level. This has, in turn, definitely ignited a personal desire to become more involved with the Institute and its innovative Masters programme starting in 2013."

The visit to HQ ARRC was a huge success; it has generated firm links to an active military command, keeping the Strategy and Security Institute at the forefront of decision making and the policy interface, but also offering HQ ARRC the opportunity to draw on the knowledge and expertise to found at the University of Exeter.