NATO needs a 'warfighting transformation' as 'anything can happen at any time,' top military official says

A top NATO military official is calling Wednesday for a "warfighting transformation" of the organization, saying that "anything can happen at any time." 

Dutch Admiral Rob Bauer, who leads NATO’s Military Committee, made the remarks while opening a meeting with national defense chiefs in Brussels that included U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. 

"In order to be fully effective also in the future, we need a warfighting transformation of NATO," Bauer said, noting that "the tectonic plates of power are shifting" and "as a result: we face the most dangerous world in decades." 

"In order to strengthen our collective defense and at the same time support Ukraine in its existential fight, we need a whole of society approach," he added. "We need public and private actors to change their mindset from an era in which everything was plannable, foreseeable, controllable, focused on efficiency… to an era in which anything can happen at any time. An era in which we need to expect the unexpected. An era in which we need to focus on effectiveness." 

"Ukraine will have our support for every day that is to come, because the outcome of this war will determine the fate of the world," Bauer also said. 

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Chair of the NATO Military Committee Rob Bauer holds a press conference in Brussels, Belgium, on May 10, 2023. (Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Bauer spoke a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy huddled with corporate executives and world leaders at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in the Swiss ski resort of Davos, where top officials from the United States, European Union, China, the Middle East and beyond are gathering.  

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President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy stands next to Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum Klaus Schwab, top right, in front of the media during the 54th annual meeting of the WEF in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday, Jan. 16.  (Laurent Gillieron/Keystone via AP)

Zelenskyy is trying to keep his country's long and largely stalemated defense against Russia on the minds of political leaders, just as Israel's war with Hamas, which passed the 100-day mark this week, has siphoned off much of the world's attention and sparked concerns about a wider conflict in the Middle East. 

An apartment building damaged in a Russian rocket attack is seen in Kharkiv, Ukraine, in the early hours of Wednesday, Jan. 17. (Kharkiv Regional Administration/AP)

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"It is important that you stand with us, I thank you for your support. It is very important to be here, to boost investment in Ukraine and support our economy," Zelenskyy said at an invitation-only "CEOs for Ukraine" session, according to his office. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.