(Dossier) At the heart of the EATC system
(BRUSSELS2 - Eindhoven) Whether for the evacuation of nationals from Côte d'Ivoire and Libya, transport planes have been put to the test in recent weeks. And they could be again soon if the humanitarian support operation, EUFOR Libya, is set up.
In the meantime, the European armed forces regularly use transport planes to transport freight and men to the four corners of the world - in particular to Afghanistan -, within the framework of visits - more or less official - or to repatriate citizens in distress. Whether it's khaki planes – Transall or C-130 – or white planes – Airbus – with a longer range, whether it's cargo or people, military transport is however subject to strong tensions today in all countries. And finding the available capacities is, sometimes, a real headache that every head of operation has, one day, had to face.
The initiative put in place by four EU countries — Germany, Belgium, France, the Netherlands — to consolidate their transport forces and integrate them into a single structure - referred to as EATC as "European Air Transport Command"- therefore deserves that we stop there in depth. This project, conceived a few years ago, takes on a very special light, at a time when the double scissors of budgetary scarcity and additional demand between in action, and the IOC (Initial Operational Capability) is to be officially proclaimed next week.
For several hours, EATC officers opened their doors to me. And I was able to speak with their various officers, one by nationality, one by function. An interview all the more interesting as this initiative, however exemplary, works very discreetly. This is perhaps the price of success.
NB: These interviews were carried out in mid-March, just before the launch of the operation in Libya. But the gripping news prevented me from having a moment of calm to put all my notes in the clear and, above all, from finding a reasonable “window of opportunity” to publish all these articles in an abundantly supplied news. But everything is current. And has been updated where necessary.
The Dossier (these articles will be published in the coming hours)
- At the command of EATC, General Jochen Both
- The ETAC “company”: an unrivaled integration experience
- 167 aircraft on hand
- EATC active in Operation Pegasus, the repatriation of Europeans from Libya
- Medevac (medical evacuation), a specific function within EATC
- A titanic task: harmonization
Other articles already published: