The 9th Annual Partnership for Peace Training and Education Centres (PTC) Commandants’ Conference (CC) chaired by the Commandant of the NATO School, Colonel USAMC James J. Tabak, was hosted by the Commandant of Finish Defence Forces International Centre (FINCENT) Col Mauri Koskela (FIN) on October 21 to 23, 2008 in Helsinki, Finland.

    14 PTC Commandants (CMDTs), representatives from the NATO School (NSO), International Staff (IS), International Military Staff (IMS), Allied Command Operations (ACO), Allied Command Transformation (ACT) and observers from Defence Institute of Kazakhstan (KAZ) and Peace Keeping Centre (PKC) of Moldova (MDA) were also present in Helsinki.

    PfP Training Centre (PTC) is national training facility in an Allied or Partner country, recognized by NATO as such in accordance with the Concept for PTC that was approved by the North Atlantic Council, which provides PfP-related education and training available to all Allies and Partners.

    This annual event enables PTC commandants to meet in order to develop the common frame of reference, make decisions that advance an intellectual interoperability, expertise and resources sharing, education and training synergy between NATO and PfP countries as well as between and among the PfP countries and also provides the patform for sharing the experience.

    The conference comprised of two distinct parts. Plenary sessions, where PTCs and representatives from NATO command structure made updates on recent development in their institutions, and separate meeting of the PTC Commandants, which led to definition of tasks for the 2009 Working Groups (WGs). The agenda was developed on the basis of decisions taken at 8th PTCs Commandants’ Conference held in Monterey, USA, in October 2007, as well as on the conclusions of the two PTC WGs held in Oberammergau in January 2008 and in Thessaloniki in June 2008.

    During plenary session Deputy Commandant of Slovak PTC, Col Juraj Vyrostek (SVK A), Vice-rector for military issues of the Armed Forces Academy (AFA) expressed Slovak official will to support TC Kazakhstan in terms of its development as a PTC and declared that AFA will be honored to receive WG from Kazakhstan in 2009. Col Peter Balaz (SVK A), Commandant of Career Development Centre AFA and Acting Commandant of the International Staff Officers’Course (ISOC) made update on recent development of ISOC and informed that the National Academy of Defence of Marshal Andrej Hadik was closed down on August 31, 2008 and the Armed Forces Academy of General Milan Rastislav Stefanik took over all its tasks and commitments.

    In a separate meeting, the PTC CMDTs tasked the 2009 WGs to discuss a future cooperation development of PTCs regarding its effectiveness, interoperability and resources sharing between NATO and PfP countries, as well as between and among the PfP countries. They also agreed to hold WGs meeting in BiH on March 3-6, 2009 and in Slovenia on June 23-26, 2009. The 10th Annual PTC CC will take place in Austria at the end of October, 2009.

    Deputy Commandant of the Slovak PTC has invited the CMDT NATO School, Colonel USAMC James J. Tabak, to visit the Slovak PTC in 2009 and confirmed that the 11th PTC CC will be held in Slovakia in 2010.