Objectives …..

 ….. to examine different national tactical employment concepts and to suggest areas where greater cohesion may be obtained.

….. to develop concepts and doctrine for the integrated operations, employment and deployment of the Central Region's conventional combat forces and weapon systems.

….. to examine, review, assess and make recommendations on force requirements, force developments, operational doctrine, operational concepts, employment concepts, capabilities and command and control to support allied mission objectives ….. 

The Concepts & Doctrine (C & D) Branch of the TLP is established with 5 officers; a Branch Chief of Wing Commander/Lieutenant Colonel rank and 4 staff officers who are specialists in the disciplines of defensive and offensive operations. Two of the staff have sub-specialisation in Command, Control and Communication (C3) and Electronic Warfare (EW).

To achieve its aim, the C & D staff examine the different national tactical employment concepts and make recommendations to HQ AIRNORTH on where the effectiveness of Central Region combined air operations may be improved. A thorough understanding of present and future inventories of modern air forces and their employment doctrine is fundamental to C & D activity. To keep abreast of current thinking, the C & D staff make visits to, and forge links with, national centres where concepts, doctrine and tactics are developed.

Much of C & D Branch work is conducted through conferences and seminars. The principle is straightforward; the staff bring together experts in specific disciplines and address subjects/issues in detail to establish, for example, the most tactical way to employ air assets in a particular situation. The experts are drawn from squadrons, wings, national and NATO headquarters, Combined Air Operations Centres (CAOCs) and TLP itself.

The results of conferences are well documented either in the form of reports or by inclusion in the AIRCENT Manual 80-6, Tactical Employment. The TLP is the custodian of this document, which is intended to complement national tactics manuals and will, in time, become the definitive manual on the tactical employment of all CR air force assets involved in combined air operations.

An important feature of TLP programme is that the three branches mutually support and interact for the benefit of the whole. This is best illustrated by the conduct of the TLP/Partnership for Peace (PfP) Air Operations Seminars held at Florennes since 1993. The seminars have been attended by many participants from the Partner Nations and use as their theme joint peace keeping operations between NATO and PfP air forces. All 3 TLP branches combine to give a wide variety of presentations to the delegations, who in turn give briefings on the structure and training of their air forces today.

For the C & D Branch, collocation with other TLP staff and course participants gives it the closest possible contact with current operators and maintains the essential links with the grass roots of tactical thinking. Tactical ideas, conceived out of C & D activity, can be evaluated and developed on TLP flying courses while the results of C & D work are incorporated into Academic and Flying Branch programmes.

The TLP C & D Branch is very conscious of the changing face and role of the CR air forces. The emphasis on mobility, new threats and the future need for international solidarity against those threats, places a greater importance on combined and joint operations than ever before. Hence, in the future, C & D will continue to address combined air operations but, because future scenarios are likely to demand closer coordination between navy, land and air forces, increasing emphasis will be placed on joint operations.