When you are a border
guard, you are not a lonely wolf. You belong to a team, you know your responsibilities,
and act upon them because this is what determines your safety and the safety of
your teammates. This is also what the success of all border operations depends
on. Who decides about these roles and who do you report to? Follow us up the
hierarchical ladder of Frontex uniformed forces, known as the chain of command.
Frontex recruited its
first EU border guards less than three years ago, but they are already over 2,000
and a few hundreds more are expected to join this year. Such a significant
number of uniformed officers requires a clear structure, such as the chain of
command.
Meet Ionut and Indra, the
newly appointed field contingent commanders.
In June 2023, Frontex entered
a new phase of its command experience – the agency
launched an operational pilot project ‘Centurion 2023’
to reorganise its teams, appoint new commanders, and redefine tasks and
responsibilities among the deployed teams. With the chain of command in place, Frontex
will be able to react faster and more efficiently to the requests from the EU
countries and to do so in a more transparent and accountable manner.
What started on 14 June
2023 in Sighetu Marmatiei, Romania, is in fact a historic shift for the entire
agency. EU border guards have their first Frontex Field Contingent Commander – Ionut
and their first Deputy – Indra. They are coordinating officers within Joint Operation
Terra with more than 20 years of professional experience.
The main challenge of
this project is to prove that we can take fast decisions in the field which
will improve reaction time, thus giving support to the national authorities in
a more effective and efficient manner. Decentralisation is the key word here, told us Ionut.
Under his command are now
two layers: sections and groups. In the future, one contingent can include up
to 600 people.
Indra and I were entrusted
with the leadership of the contingent and we are mostly in the field, among
colleagues, listening to their feedback, suggestions, concerns, and
initiatives. Teamwork by the book, this is the aim.
Both Ionut and Indra
climbed gradually up the hierarchical ladder, starting as border guards in
their home countries: Romania and Latvia, finally to reach the managerial
responsibilities in Frontex. In fact, knowing the responsibilities and
hardships of every rank is key to understanding how uniformed services work not
only to distribute work and tasks accordingly but also to shape the potential
in the contingent flexibly, as the situation requires.
Ionut and Indra were
recognised for their skills. - In return, explained Indra, we agreed
on the criteria to select officers to lead the sections. We appointed the
officers based on their work performance in their previous deployments in land
operations.
As a commander you need
to have a vision and a common drive to achieve your goals but also the maturity
to manage failures. As Indra put it: - Failures happen. It is totally normal,
and we need them. We need to have a critical look at things, and we also
need clear feedback from team members.
Finally, leaders must
have a very clear understanding of the objectives. For Frontex, it is all about
the agency’s mission and cooperation with the hosting countries. The supreme
goal is to offer an effective response to the needs on the EU external borders.
The chain of command is
meant to cut some administrative burdens and offer more flexibility in using
our agency’s potential, commented Indra. But, as on every hierarchical
level, there needs to be interaction. Ionut believes that commanders must seek
actively and be open to feedback from the field officers: - We need them to
be involved, open-minded, objective, and critical. We all need this for our
common good now and in the future.
If your skills match up
with theirs, you might be ready to lead your first EU border guard team to
success. All you need to do is to respond to our recruitment campaign! Join the EU border guard now.
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Frontex is currently looking for high-ranking officers to join the EU guard and lead its operational teams. Read the vacancy notice and apply by 10 January!
