Naval War College hosts flag officer course in Miami
MIAMI (May 15, 2018) – Commander, U.S. Southern Command, Adm. Kurt Tidd delivers remarks during the Combined Force Maritime Component Commander (CFMCC) Flag course held at U.S. Southern Command headquarters in Miami. The CFMCC course serves as an opportunity for partner navies in the Southern Hemisphere and around the world to discuss challenges that each face, create concepts and ideas to address these challenges and build trust and confidence among partner nations. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Michael Hendricks/Released) MIAMI -- The U.S. Naval War College and U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet co-hosted the Combined Force Maritime Component Commander (CFMCC) Flag Officer course at U.S. Southern Command headquarters in Miami from May 14-18.
The course serves as an opportunity for partner navies in the Southern Hemisphere and around the world to discuss challenges that each face, create concepts and ideas to address these challenges and build trust and confidence among partner nations.
Thirteen nations participated, including senior officers from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain, Panama, Peru, Uruguay and the United States. Of the participating nations, there were 22 students, 10 from the U.S. and 12 from partner nations.
The CFMCC Flag course also hosted guest speakers from Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru and the U.S. Three of the partner nation guest speakers were unique in that all have served the position of CFMCC in either real-world operations or exercise environments in the past 24 months, and the Chilean guest speaker is slated to be the CFMCC for the upcoming RIMPAC exercise later this year. Their experiences served to enhance the conversations and increase the overall impact and effectiveness of the course.
In addition to international naval attendees, U.S. attendees came from the Navy and Marine Corps services. The CFMCC Flag Course addresses the practical challenges confronting the maritime operational commander. Actual regional concerns, and the CFMCC capabilities to address those concerns, are the basis for course discussions and study. Further, the course considers existing CFMCC concepts and doctrine, operational-level capabilities, command and control processes and applications and the considerations and expectations of the combined force commander in addition to supporting functional component commanders.
U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet employ maritime forces in cooperative maritime security operations in order to maintain access, enhance interoperability, and build enduring partnerships that foster regional security in the U.S. Southern Command Area of Responsibility.