NATO Scientists Respond to Covid-19 Threat

We recall: In March 2020, the number of coronavirus infections rose sharply worldwide; besides China, the USA and Europe also became hotspots of the global pandemic. On March 19, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg addressed media saying: "This is an unprecedented crisis. But we have overcome crises before. And together, we will overcome the coronavirus crisis.”

Immediately afterwards, NATO Chief Scientist Dr Bryan Wells launched the “NATO Chief Scientist Challenge”, an initiative that sought solutions in the areas of virus detection, improved situational awareness, decontamination and resilience, but also what would come after Covid-19.

Dr Wells made his call to NATO's Science and Technology Organisation (STO), which is the world's largest forum for collaborative defence and security research, representing some 6,000 scientists. The Office of the Chief Scientist, along with NATO allies, partners and collaborators, then helped turn the best proposals into action. The NATO Collaboration Support Office (CSO) in Paris provided support by coordinating relevant research activities in sharing knowledge and possible solutions. Two of the CSO’s technical panels, the Human Factors and Medicine Panel (HFM) and the System Analysis and Studies Panel (SAS), developed recommendations.

Timothy Povich, Executive Officer for the System Analysis and Studies Panel of NATO STO's Collaborative Support Office and US DoD liaison to the collaborative network presented some first results: "The STO network rose to meet the Secretary General's call to bring to bear the best of NATO S&T. The resulting Chief Scientist's challenge received 40 proposals and after consolidation, the proposals were assessed for relevance, coherence, impact, effectiveness, and sustainability. Many submissions were judged outstanding, and the six were identified as being the most relevant. Such a rapid and creative response demonstrated the value of the collaborative network to provide quick support to an urgent problem."

Dr Wells was pleased with the result: "This is a tremendous response from the Alliance network of scientists, showing how they are responding rapidly to the challenges of Covid-19 and bringing their scientific expertise to bear on this vital task."

Activities and Outcomes

Operational Ethics: Preparation and Interventions for the Future Security Environment (HFM-ET-182)

NATO HFM ET (Exploratory Team)-182 identified that moral injury is very relevant to consider in the context of Covid-19. Moral injury is the profound psychological distress associated with perpetrating or witnessing acts (or inaction) that violates a person’s fundamental moral beliefs. Although most knowledge concerning moral injury is associated with the military, it has been documented in various professions. Moral issues may well be triggered by national decisions to reopen. They may do this in a hasty way that betrays a public trust or is based on (or ignores) scientific advice or by relying on digital tools, e.g. tracking apps, which may not be scientifically sound. Several of the HFM ET-182 members were already working on issues related to moral injury and Covid-19. This knowledge has been exploited to provide advice/guidance to leaders and front-line workers on preparation and support during and after the Covid-19 pandemic.

The activity is ongoing.

Disinformation in Relation to Covid-19 (HFM-336)

The objective was a better understanding of misinformation about the pandemic and how to counter it. The team hosted a series of Panel discussions focused on Covid-19 disinformation with senior military leaders. The team produced a video entitled “How is NATO Responding to Disinformation on Covid-19?” to provide leadership with a better understanding of misinformation about the pandemic and how to counter it.

The activity is complete.

Leadership in a Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous World (HFM-337)

The objective is to improve the use of technology to train military leaders in pandemic operations. The Specialist Team is ongoing and will produce a short, detailed report highlighting the possible futures and recommend military impacts. The team has been engaging with NATO and Nations on using AI technology to monitor Covid-19 logistics and distribution of vaccines. Overall, the group is exploring how to link leadership, leadership development and technology, integrating virtual training and exercises for leader development, and using AI technology to facilitate broader awareness that will promote cooperation and coordination among NATO nations.

The activity is ongoing.

NATO Analytical War Gaming – Innovative Approaches (SAS-139)

The aim was to apply the analytical tools of NATO scientists to prepare for future pandemics. The NATO war gaming community has already identified and shared several Covid-19 wargames with the community.

The activity is ongoing.

Conceptual Framework for Comprehensive National Defence Systems (SAS-152)

The objective is the analysis of joint military-civil interactions during pandemic operations and lessons learnt from Covid-19 for National Defence Systems. The group discussed the topic and agreed to address Covid-19 within the national case studies. The team included short sub-chapters on Covid-19 in case studies on Belgium and Norway and a summary in the Phase I report pre-released in January 2021. Turkish members of the RTG identified a summary of Covid-19 related activities in their case study and a standalone chapter on Covid-19 response in Turkey, published in the final version of the report.

The activity is ongoing.

The Future Impacts of Covid-19 on the Alliance (SAS-169)

The objective was to understand the operational impact of Covid-19 on military readiness and missions, as well as keeping forces healthy during a pandemic deployment. The team, in seven months, produced a report entitled “The Military Impacts on the Alliance: Challenges and Opportunities”. The report provides national and NATO planners and decision-makers with high-level recommendations to address these impacts. In their work, SAS-169 developed two analytical frameworks: a Futures Framework determining three possible futures within a baseline/worst/best case structure and a Military Impact Framework describing the impact of these futures across the complete spectrum of military functional areas such as personnel, intelligence, operations, logistics, planning, communications, training, finance and civil affairs. There were ten key overall recommendations made, with numerous other recommendations identified in the different military and functional areas.

The activity is complete.

* Source: NATO Science & Technology Organization