ODU, NATO Collaborative Office To Open in Innovation Research Park

An office designed to facilitate information sharing between the military and civilians during times of crisis is opening its doors this week at Old Dominion University's Innovation Research Park (IRP).

The Civil-Military Fusion Center and Civil-Military Overview CMF/CMO is an office under control of NATO's Supreme Allied Command Transformation Headquarters. Under a Memorandum of Understanding, NATO Supreme Allied Command has maintained a formal relationship with ODU for more than a decade.

That made the location in the research park ideal for CMF/CMO to create its "fusion center."

A ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled for 1 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 26 at IRP, 4111 Monarch Way, Suite 412.

Maj.-Gen. Kjell-Ove Skare, assistant chief of staff for implementation of Supreme Allied Command Transformation, and ODU acting President John R. Broderick will cut the ribbon.

The fusion center concept is an effort to create an environment where information can flow freely between civilian and military actors engaged in complex crises.

As the concept of "need to know" expands into "need to share," this will promote enhanced information flow and reduce conflicts.

CMF/CMO has been structured as an office that will provide both military and civilian expertise to crisis responders.

Its location on the ODU campus offers a new opportunity for collaboration, and relationships with the university's faculty and students in international studies and related disciplines.

"It certainly is a win-win situation for both the Allied Command Transformation and Old Dominion," said Broderick.

The core staff of the center includes military officers, as well as former members of the United Nations and employees from reputable international and nongovernmental organizations such as Global Reach, the Pearson Peacekeeping Center and the International Organization for Migration.