46 • Issue No: 10 • September 2017 Head of the Polish National Security Bureau at JFTC Mr. Paweł Soloch, the Head of the Polish National Security Bureau, visited the Joint Force Training Centre (JFTC) on 29 September. During his meeting with the Centre’s Commander, Major General Wilhelm Grün, and Deputy Commander/ Chief of Staff, Brigadier General Ladislav Jung, he was accompanied by Brigadier General Jarosław Kraszewski, the Director of the Armed Forces Supervision Department. As this was Minister Soloch’s first visit at the Bydgoszcz NATO training centre, he received much of information about the JFTC, its mission, structure, main areas of focus and activities. The discussions also touched upon the JFTC support to current operations as well as its key role in building NATO’s future. To give Minister Soloch and General Kraszewski a better overview of JFTC as a flagship of NATO training, General Grün invited his guests for a walk through the facility. This part of the visit was combined with a demonstration of simulation tools that enable JFTC to provide a state-of-the-art training support to setting the stage for exercises reflecting the operational reality. “Thank you for fulfilling this very important allied mission” – Minister Soloch wrote in the JFTC guestbook and expressed his wishes of further success for the Centre. Future Vice Chief of Staff at SHAPE Visits JFTC Lieutenant General Hugues Delort-Laval, the designated Supreme Headquarters Allied Power Europe’s (SHAPE) Vice Chief of Staff, visited the Joint Force Training Centre (JFTC) on 10 October. He met with Major General Wilhelm Grün, the Centre’s Commander, and his Deputy, Brigadier General Ladislav Jung. The JFTC’s key role in NATO training and thus in shaping the future of the Alliance was the main topic of discussions held during the visit. General Delort-Laval received comprehensive information on the Centre’s mission, structure, current activities as well as plans for future development. This, together with a walk through the facility, gave the JFTC guest a broad understanding of the Centre as a flagship of NATO training dedicated to Connected Forces Initiative’s principles and as the state-of-the-art platform for experimentation. “I know the importance of the Centre and I am determined to help SHAPE support to the greatest possible extent” – wrote General Delort-Laval in the JFTC guestbook. General Grün Meets with Local Authorities and Explores Military Installations Meetings with Mr. Rafał Bruski, the Mayor of Bydgoszcz, Mr. Zbigniew Sobociński, the Chairman of the City Council, as well as with Colonel Grzegorz Wasielewski, the Director of the NATO Military Police Centre of Excellence and Major Paweł Szymański, the Deputy Commander of the 3rd NATO Signal Battalion, marked the second part of courtesy visits Major General Wilhem Grün paid to local authorities and institutions. The visits took place between 12 and 17 October. After meetings on a regional level, held in September, the Joint Force Training Centre (JFTC) Commander focused on discussions with the highest representatives of Bydgoszcz municipality. On 12 October General Grün met with the Mayor of Bydgoszcz and five days later he visited the Chairman of the Bydgoszcz City Council. Both meetings were devoted to current cooperation between JFTC and the City of Bydgoszcz, and to possible ways of maintaining and deepening close relations with the local community. 46 • Issue No: 10 • September 2017 Photos: Robert Sawicki, Courtesy of the City Hall of Bydgoszcz