The 11th edition of the Joint Personnel Recovery Staff Course (JPRSC), a project initiated and supported by the European Defence Agency (EDA), was organised and hosted by the Hungarian Defence Forces from 22 May to 2 June in Veszprém, Hungary.
A total of 15 students from five contributing countries (The Netherlands, Sweden, Germany, Norway, and Hungary) benefitted from the knowledge and experience of a cadre of instructors from Sweden, Germany, Hungary and the European Personnel Recovery Centre (EPRC).
The main focus of the course was to train staff officers in supporting their commanders in Personnel Recovery related issues. The course was designed for personnel who man personnel recovery positions in tactical operation centres (TOCs), personnel recovery coordination cells (PRCCs) or joint personnel recovery cells (JPRCs). The overall objective of the Joint Personnel Recovery Staff Course is to ensure that trained personnel are available to support any future Personnel Recovery activities in an operational context.
Personnel Recovery is a vital element of modern operational planning as it provides a security net for deployed personnel. Most importantly, it boosts morale and acknowledges the responsibility of Member States and the European Union to develop and provide relevant capabilities to recover and reintegrate isolated personnel deployed in the context of Crisis Management Operations under the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP).
The next EU JPRSC will take place in the Italian Joint Air Operations School in Guidonia (Rome) from 13 to 22 September 2017 and will be organised by the Italian Ministry of Defence.
Background
The EDA PRCPC project was established on 30 May 2013 as an EDA Category B project under the lead of Sweden. As of today, it includes seven contributing EU Member States (cMS): Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands and Sweden. The course has been extended three times and will be finalised on 30 May 2019. The JPRSC is part of the EDA’s Personnel Recovery Controller and Planner Course (PRCPC).