Since the Cold War concluded in the early 1990s, multinational/coalition operations have shaped the military’s involvement in activities and engagements around the globe. These military involvements cover the full spectrum of operations, from humanitarian/disaster relief, to peacekeeping/peace enforcement, to major theatre war. The most important variable in coalition operations is ‘unified action’, the synergistic application of all instruments of national and multinational power involving non-military and international organizations, governmental as well as military forces. In order to achieve unified action, interoperability between multinational forces is characterized by the seamless exchange and sharing of information at the strategic, operational and tactical levels. Interoperability means more than simply connecting systems together to exchange data, but also involves the ability of coalition partners to share information, create a shared understanding of the situation, collaborate on the development and selection of courses of action (COAs), communicate these COAs to all forces or units, and allow forces to work together effectively.⁽¹⁾ Aside from communication and information technology networks, interoperability includes all aspects of doctrine, logistics, intelligence and policy. When assessing the current state of multinational interoperability, it is easy to identify gaps which hinder strategic and operational planning between national military and planning staffs. The realization that these gaps exist was a key factor in the formation of the Multinational Interoperability Council (MIC), a deliberative, non-binding multinational forum.

The MIC

The MIC is a senior operator-led, seven-nation forum that identifies and addresses strategic and high operational level interoperability issues, challenges and gaps. This forum has existed since 1996 and consists of representatives from the Ministries/Departments of Defence of Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The MIC identifies interoperability issues and articulates actions which, if nationally implemented by member nations, contribute to more effective multinational/coalition operations.⁽²⁾ Its overall goal is to facilitate the exchange of relevant information across national boundaries to support multinational/coalition operations and to encourage national actions to resolve interoperability issues. Its vision is to become a premier operator-led forum to promote interoperability among lead nation militaries, supported by collaboration with and between government and relevant non-government entities, to enable more effective and successful multinational/coalition operations.⁽³⁾ The MIC is an excellent collaborative forum for senior operators and their staffs to candidly and objectively discuss the multitude of interoperability issues facing their nations individually and collectively in supporting multinational/coalition operations. Membership in the MIC is selective but not exclusive. To be a MIC member, a nation must have the desire, capability, competence and resources to lead a coalition operation and be willing to commit sufficient personnel and resources to fully participate in all MIC meetings. The small number of member nations allows the MIC to adroitly balance the benefits of broader perspective and regional coverage while still being responsive and flexible. Nations not meeting the MIC membership requirements can petition for ‘Observer’ status and participate in MIC meetings, while organizations can petition for ‘Associate’ status. Currently, New Zealand is an Observer while NATO Allied Command Transformation and the European Union Military Staff are Associates in the MIC.