Chief of Navy Reserve Vice Adm. Luke McCollum participated in a week of Navy Reserve maritime counterpart visits in the United Kingdom and Germany, March 11-15.

Hosted by Royal Navy Commander Maritime Reserves, Commodore Martin Quinn ADC, and German Navy Vice Adm. Rainer Brinkmann, the visits allowed the reserve senior leaders an opportunity to discuss cyber warfare, civilian employers, policies, civilian skills and ways leadership can implement best practices in support of the active — regular, U.K. — fleets in the maritime domain.

“We were delighted that Adm. McCollum was able to spend two days with the Royal Naval Reserve in Portsmouth and Yeovilton during his visit to Europe,” said Quinn. “We clearly share many similar challenges and both see people as our most important asset.”

He also said that he has taken ideas from Adm. McCollum for future people development, and was pleased to be able to show him first-hand how they are developing their people.

“We value our relationship with the USN and its Reserve most highly and look forward to developing it even further as a result of Adm. McCollum's visit,” he said.

After visiting with Quinn and Royal Navy Reserve Sailors in the U.K., McCollum traveled to Rostock Germany for senior leadership discussions with Brinkmann at the German Navy headquarters.

“We had fruitful discussions about our Reserve forces regarding practice, techniques, skill and doctrines,” Brinkmann said. “We were able to exchange some very good ideas on how to improve and enhance our concepts.”

McCollum said the exchange of information and sharing of techniques and policies build stronger Navies and nations. “In recent years, the maritime strategy has shifted from power projection to sea control, and we must be ready to meet these challenges,” he said.

“There is great value in deepening relationships with allies and partners,” he said, adding that he believes the counterpart visits play a vital role in keeping the lines of communication and discussion open with global maritime partners.

“These visits bring insight to other maritime reserve techniques, which cannot be received without reaching out and visiting international maritime leaders and starting the dialog,” he said. “The UK and the German Navy Reserve both leverage programs and policies to effectively employ highly trained Sailors within the Reserve system. This type of discussion provides great insight as we develop our strategic depth.”

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