CIOMR

22/08/2026

CIOMR mourns the passing of our immediate Past President, Lieutenant Colonel Nils Drews (Germany).

Lt Col Drews dedicated many years of service to CIOMR, contributing in a number of roles before serving as President from 2024 to 2026.

Those who had the privilege of working with him will remember his intellect, his commitment to the Reserve medical community, and above all his warmth and good humour. Nils had an unmistakable glint in his eye and a natural ability to bring people together, often using his calm manner and amiability to find common ground even in difficult circumstances.

Despite the considerable challenges of his illness, Nils continued to serve and to lead throughout the German Presidency. His commitment reflected the values at the heart of CIOMR: service, friendship across nations, and a determination to strengthen the contribution of healthcare Reservists across the Alliance.

At the conclusion of his Presidency, he handed over an organisation well placed to continue its work, representing Reserve medical personnel at the highest levels of NATO, strengthening multinational relationships, and preparing the next generation of healthcare Reservists for the challenges they may be called upon to face.

The entire CIOMR family has lost a colleague and a dear friend. We will remember Nils not only for the offices he held, but for the person he was. Someone who was thoughtful, resilient, generous in spirit, and unfailingly good-humoured.

Our thoughts are with his family, friends and colleagues at this very sad time.

Rest in peace, Nils. You will be greatly missed.

CISOR
CIOR - Interallied Confederation of Reserve Officers

14/08/2026

🚨 BREAKING NEWS | Ukraine joins CIOMR with Associate Member status🇺🇦

On 6 August 2026, Ukraine formally acceded to CIOMR as an Associate Member - an important moment for both Ukraine and the CIOMR community.

Major General Anatoliy Kazmirchuk, Commander of the Medical Forces of Ukraine, marked the occasion with a powerful operational update on the challenges facing Ukrainian forces. He also shared how battlefield innovation and hard-won operational experience are improving survival, recovery and return to duty.

Representing the Ukrainian delegation, Volodymyr Dzhydzhora, Ukraine Vice President to CIOR, formally signed the accession documents alongside Brigadier Jaish Mahan, President of CIOMR. ✍️🇺🇦

We are delighted to welcome Ukraine to the CIOMR family.

Ukraine’s accession strengthens our community and brings invaluable contemporary operational experience to our shared mission: ensuring that medical reserve forces across the Alliance and its partners are ready for the challenges of today and tomorrow.

A significant step forward for our Presidency priorities:

🤝 — broadening the voices and experience within CIOMR
🎓 — learning from real-world operational medical experience
🛡️ — strengthening readiness for the demands of modern warfare

Welcome, Ukraine. Ласкаво просимо! 🇺🇦

14/08/2026

PRESIDENCY UPDATE

On 4 August 2026, leadership of CIOMR officially passed from Germany 🇩🇪 to the United Kingdom 🇬🇧, marking the start of a new Presidency.

As the German Presidency concluded, Col Peter Fellmer, representing outgoing President Lt Col Nils Drews, reflected on an outstanding two years of progress and thanked the CIOMR community for its commitment, professionalism and support.

Incoming President, Brigadier Jaish Mahan, outlined three priorities that will guide the UK Presidency:

🔹 Representation – strengthening CIOMR’s relationships across NATO, including with the 3Cs, the NATO Committee on Reserves (NCR), and continuing to build our role as the trusted working group supporting COMEDS.

🔹 Education – building on the success of the Junior Medical Reserve Officer Workshop (JMROW) and Reserve Officer Workshop (ROW), investing in the next generation of military medical reserve leaders.

🔹 Preparation – ensuring every CIOMR activity contributes to our collective readiness to support NATO’s warfighting mission.

The President also introduced the new Executive Team:
• International Vice President – Maj Neeraj Shah
• ASG Plans – Lt Col Kathleen Cooper
• ASG Operations – Capt Natalie Gardner
• ASG Initiatives – Capt Elizabeth Willis

The UK Presidency is honoured to build on the outstanding achievements of Germany and looks forward to working with member nations as CIOMR continues to strengthen its role as the leading voice for military healthcare reservists across NATO and partner nations.

14/08/2026

🇷🇴 CIOMR Summer Congress 2026 | Final Day – ROW & JMROW Staff Ride

🎖️ Learning from History to Prepare for Future Conflict

The final day of the CIOMR Summer Congress saw ROW and JMROW students take the lead, guiding participants on a walking staff ride through the historic centre of Bucharest.

Across six stops, students explored a city shaped by revolution, occupation and political upheaval, while tracing the evolution of Romanian military medicine.

📍 Revolution Square
📍 Calea Victoriei
📍 Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy
📍 Carol I National Defense University
📍 Palace of Parliament & Constitution Square
📍 Monument to the Heroes of the Homeland

The tour explored how Romanian military medicine developed from 19th-century battlefield surgery into a key contributor to NATO’s modern multinational medical system.

🩺 Throughout the staff ride, students challenged participants to consider how historical lessons can inform the planning and delivery of medical support during Large Scale Combat Operations (LSCO).

The day concluded with a wreath laying at the Monument to the Heroes of the Homeland, providing a fitting opportunity to reflect on those who have served and sacrificed.

A powerful final day — connecting history, military medicine and the challenges of future conflict, while giving ROW and JMROW students the opportunity to lead and share their knowledge.

08/08/2026

CIOMR Summer Congress 2026 | Day 5 🌍

Operational updates, innovation, military medicine and professional development

Day 5 of the CIOMR Summer Congress brought together a diverse programme covering current operational lessons, NATO medical cooperation, science and technology, and the development of future military medical leaders.

🇺🇦 Ukraine Keynote & Updates – providing insight into current military medical challenges and lessons from the conflict.

🔬 NATO Science & Technology Update – Col Peter Fellmer (GER), exploring developments in science and technology relevant to future military capability.

🏥 MILMED COE Update – Lt Col Campenhausen (GER), highlighting ongoing work within NATO military medical cooperation.

🎓 JMROW Shortlisted Presentations – showcasing the work and ideas of emerging military medical leaders.

🤝 MMCC-E Update – Brigadier General Dr Thorsten Schutz, Director, MMCC-E, providing an update on multinational medical coordination.

🇺🇸 Operational Update – providing insight into current US operations and their wider implications for military medical planning.

The day concluded with the CIOMR Dinner, bringing together members and invited guests from across the Alliance.

A full day of shared experience, professional development and strengthening multinational military medical cooperation.

08/08/2026

Summer Congress 2026 - ROW x senior Leaders 🛂

NATO 2044: What kind of Alliance will the future demand? 🌐

For the capstone exercise of the inaugural Reserve Officers Workshop (ROW), participants were asked to look almost two decades ahead and develop a strategy for NATO in a world that may look very different from today.

Using NATO ACT’s Strategic Foresight Analysis, multinational teams were each assigned one of four possible futures for 2044:

🔹 Pervasive Competition
🔹 Global Cooperation
🔹 Better Angels of Our Nature
🔹 Fragmenting World

Their challenge was not simply to describe that future, but to answer the harder question:

What should NATO do about it?

Drawing together lessons from across the week, including strategic and critical thinking, understanding the Alliance, red-teaming, negotiation and senior-level briefing - each team developed a strategy for how NATO should adapt and respond.

Then came the test.

Teams briefed their recommendations to a panel of two-star Generals from across the Alliance, before defending their assumptions, choices and conclusions under robust questioning.

It was a fitting conclusion to the inaugural ROW: multinational officers working together, thinking beyond today’s problems, challenging assumptions, and articulating credible ideas to senior leaders.

Because preparing the Alliance for the future starts with being willing to think seriously about what that future might look like.

08/08/2026

CIOMR Summer Congress 2026
Medical War Gaming | Decision-Making Under Pressure ⛓️‍💥

What happens when the evacuation plan changes, communications fail and medical capacity becomes the limiting factor?

As part of the JMROW and ROW programmes, participants took part in a multinational medical decision-making war game, placing them in the role of a Multinational Medical Treatment Facility (MMTF) operating in a contested maritime environment.

Working in multinational teams, participants were challenged to make decisions with incomplete and changing information, balancing casualty care, evacuation, sustainment, interoperability and risk.

The scenario evolved through a series of increasingly difficult challenges:

🔹 Mass casualty incident – prioritising casualties across multiple locations with limited Role 2 capacity.
🔹 Digital degradation – adapting casualty tracking, handover and command and control when electronic systems and bandwidth became unreliable.
🔹 Evacuation denial – changing plans as sea and air corridors became contested or closed.
🔹 Sustainment pressures – managing limited oxygen, blood, power and cold-chain capacity.
🔹 Prolonged Field Care – deciding what must continue, what must stop and how to safely hold casualties forward.
🔹 Information uncertainty – making movement decisions when reports of corridor safety could not be fully trusted.
🔹 Medical facility threat – adapting the way care is delivered when the medical footprint itself becomes vulnerable.

The exercise reinforced a fundamental lesson of modern military medicine: there are rarely perfect answers — only difficult decisions and competing risks.

For the next generation of reserve officers, the challenge was not simply to provide medical care, but to understand how medical capability contributes to operational decision-making in a contested, multinational battlespace.

Through war gaming, JMROW and ROW participants are developing the ability to think, adapt, communicate and lead when the situation does not go according to plan.

31/01/2026

29/01/2026

📆 Wednesday 28th January -ARO Joint programme ✨

We joined with our partner organisations CIOR, CISOR and NCR to hear from senior leadership from across the Alliance, focusing on how reserve forces are transforming to meet the demands of future conflict.

We opened with General Aurelio Colagrande, Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, who underscored the urgent need for rapid, adaptive transformation across NATO to maintain readiness and strategic advantage in an increasingly complex security environment.

Lieutenant General John P. Healy, Chief of the U.S. Air Force Reserve, highlighted the enduring importance of personal relationships, multinational training, and interoperability at both tactical and strategic levels. He emphasised the breadth of international partner missions undertaken by the USAF Reserve, reinforcing the principle that we are truly .

“High-end tactical interoperability provides a decisive advantage.”

Rear Admiral M.A. Hopper, Chief of Reserves (Canada), set out why reserve forces must continue to modernise and fully integrate into force posture plans in response to evolving global threats. He highlighted the critical contribution reservists make in enhancing capability, resilience, and lethality across the Alliance.

Finally, General Martin Herem, former Commander of the Estonian Defence Forces, provided a compelling overview of Estonia’s defence model, demonstrating how an effective conscription system can motivate and engage youth while delivering credible national defence.

A powerful day of insight, challenge, and collaboration across the Alliance.

NATO - Allied Command Transformation (ACT)
NATO

CIOR - Interallied Confederation of Reserve Officers CISOR

28/01/2026