Readiness as a Mission: Implications for Belgian Defence

07.10.2021

Readiness reflects the ability of the armed forces to accomplish their assigned tasks in time. Like many European counterparts, Belgian Defence disposes of some high readiness assets, but is lacking in readiness overall. This impacts its contribution to collective defence and its wider ability to support societal resilience. This Egmont Security Brief explains the concept of readiness as a question of resource management and applies this to the ongoing defence review. Treating readiness as a meta-mission implies not only balancing the budgetary input parameters – investing in personnel, training, equipment and maintenance simultaneously – but also taking a selective approach towards operational engagement. Doing so will enable the force to regenerate as rapidly as possible, and boost Belgium’s ability to act both at home and abroad.

By Alexander Mattelaer (7 October 2021)