JHNSP (joint host nation support plan)

JHNSP stands for Joint Host Nation Support Plan. It comes from NATO's operational and logistics planning framework, where the host nation (HN), the sending nations (SNs) and the NATO commander plan together to arrange civil and military support for allied forces and NATO organizations.

The idea rests on host-nation support (HNS). NATO doctrine defines HNS as the civil and military assistance a host nation provides in peace, crisis or war to NATO and other forces and organizations that are located in, operating from or transiting through its territory. The joint plan is how that assistance is organized before it is needed. NATO's logistics handbook describes HNS planning as an integral part of logistics planning and a key component of operational planning.

Who takes part in joint host nation support planning

Three parties are responsible for HNS planning: the host nation, the sending nations and the NATO commander. The host nation states what civil and military support it can provide from its territory. The sending nations state what they need for their forces. The NATO commander ties those needs to the operation or exercise being planned.

Because all three take part, the plan is joint in a literal sense. No single party sets the terms alone, and the arrangements that follow are agreed between the nations concerned.

The steps in the HNS planning process

NATO's Allied Joint Publication 4.5 on host nation support sets out the process in sequence:

• Submission of an HNS request and development of a memorandum of understanding.
• Development of a concept of requirements.
• Development of technical arrangements.
• Preparation of joint implementation arrangements (JIAs).
• Transition from planning to operational execution.

After the memorandum of understanding is concluded, a Joint Host Nation Support Steering Committee (JHNSSC) develops the arrangements for HNS. Technical arrangements supplement the memorandum of understanding. They support the joint implementation arrangements, which specify the support to be provided, reimbursement and site-specific procedures.

Canada's place in NATO host-nation support

Canada takes part in HNS activity through the enhanced Forward Presence in Latvia. A joint declaration of the defence ministers of Canada, Estonia, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania and the United Kingdom identifies Canada as a framework nation for the Latvia deployment. The ministers also refer to the need for host nations to provide infrastructure and training opportunities for HNS.

NATO sources describe HNS as touching civilian resources, infrastructure, logistics and services. That is the area where planning for allied forces meets commercial supply.

What JHNSP means for a supplier bidding on Canadian contracts

A supplier should not read a contractual obligation into the abbreviation alone. No Canadian solicitation, contract clause or standing arrangement identified in this research names a JHNSP as a requirement or deliverable. Any duty placed on a supplier has to be stated in the solicitation, the statement of work, a technical arrangement, a joint implementation arrangement, the security requirements or another document incorporated into the contract.

For bid teams, the practical step is to read those documents closely when a requirement involves allied forces, deployed operations or exercises. If a tender refers to host-nation support, check which of the planning instruments above it relies on, and what it says about services, reimbursement and site procedures.