NATO militaries are better prepared for war now than they were a year ago but broader society hasn’t yet realised it needs to as well, and if the public starts panic-buying radios, torches, and bottled water to “survive the first 36 hours” then “that’s great”, the alliance’s military chief said.
The most senior military officer in the North Atlantic Treat Organisation (NATO) has said while the Ukraine war has stalled for both sides, the Russian ability to regenerate force is becoming a concern and a potential conflict between Russia and the alliance itself — rather than a proxy like Ukraine — will be “a whole of society event” the West is not yet ready for. Speaking to the press at NATO headquarters in Belgium, Dutch Admiral and Chair of the alliance’s Military Committee Rob Bauer painted a bleak picture of an unpredictable future which the wider public should now be preparing for, rather than compartmentalizing war as something that happens a long way away, and impacts professional soldiers only.
Challenged on the preparedness of the West for Russian aggression, Admiral Bauer said NATO militaries had come on considerably recently, and as a defensive organisation NATO existed to be prepared for Russian aggression. But times were changing and the public needs to be ready too. He said: “the big difference with a year ago is a lot of things have happened in the armed forces and defence organisations. What hasn’t happened is in our societies, the understanding that it is more than the military that has to be able to operate in a conflict or in a war. It is the whole of a society that will get involved whether we like it or not.”
A visibly agitated Baurer responded to one journalist accusing military leaders of attempting to frighten the public with their announcements, the press writer citing a Swedish general telling the public that war is coming and they should be ready for it had led to “panic buying” of self-preparedness items. Bauer said if the public are “surprised” to suddenly discover they are to be part of a whole-of-society effort to repel Russian aggression then “that’s great”.
The admiral responded to the question that this shock could spur individuals to become more prepared. He said in remarks likely meant for the public: “the people, they have to understand they play a role. Society is part of the solution… you need to have water, you need to have a radio on batteries, you need to have a flashlight with batteries to make sure you can survive the first 36 hours. Things like that, that’s simple things but it starts there.”
Hellbound and Down 