Courtesy Photo | U.S. Army Lt. Col. David Semidey, staff officer at the Joint Warfare Centre,...... read more read more
STAVANGER, Norway — U.S. Soldiers assigned to five NATO units participated in Exercise Steadfast Jupiter 2022 at the Joint Warfare Centre Oct. 11-21.
About 40 Soldiers serving in the 1st German-Netherlands Corps from Muenster, Germany, the Joint Force Command Brunssum from the Netherlands, the NATO Alliance Ground Surveillance Force from Sigonella, Italy, the Allied Land Command from Izmir, Turkey, and the Joint Warfare Centre worked together with about 650 military and civilian personnel from 27 NATO and partner nations.
The tactical level of the exercise was designed to train and evaluate the 1st German-Netherlands Corps to serve as the NATO Response Force 2023.
“Steadfast Jupiter is a strategic, operational and tactical level computer-assisted, command post exercise that’s used to train and validate the NATO Response Force as they go through their training progression,” said U.S. Army Capt. Sean Eadie, JFC Brunssum.
During the exercise Eadie worked in the Higher Control Response Cell. The HICON RC is part of the Exercise Control playing the role of the training unit’s higher headquarters.
“As a targeting officer with Joint Force Command Brunssum in the Netherlands, our responsibility is to ensure that the NATO Response Force have their tactics and procedures in place so that they can request joint assets as needed, and we can provide these effects in a timely manner,” said Eadie.
Capt. Dylan Henry is also assigned to JFC Brunssum and worked in the HICON Response Cell as a battle captain.
“This exercise specifically allows our unit to get a chance to understand our subordinate element,” said Henry. “As the JFC we get to see our land component command, the maritime component command and the air component command in action working through a computer automated exercise, exercising our staff procedures, enabling us to prepare ourselves for NATO Response Force requirements and commitments we have made.”
The Joint Warfare Centre directs the exercise and provides advisors for the training audience.
“I think this training is important for the 1st German-Netherlands Corps because it is certifying them to be the NATO Response Force for the upcoming year,” said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Aaron Morris, JWC, strategic communications and information operations advisor. “This is their chance to ensure that their headquarters systems and processes are functional and fit for purpose, and also gives them the experience within the computer simulation to stress those systems and processes to make sure they’re ready to take command and ready to execute operations should NATO call on them.
“A lot of these headquarters, just like any other military unit, have people rotate in frequently.
“For some of the new people, this is their first chance to really work within a stressed environment with their new co-workers.
“It also enables NATO to augment this headquarters with other personnel from outside the 1st GNC, from other NATO organizations or other NATO member states. It allows people broader exposure to NATO operations and how NATO plans to fight.”
The JWC Commander, Polish Army Maj. Gen. Piotr Malinowski, said the exercise is designed to increase NATO’s ability to respond to any contingency.
“With this exercise, the Joint Warfare Centre is focusing exclusively on the tactical level in a highly realistic training environment where we can train multiple capabilities simultaneously.
“I see this training as invaluable for the participating commands and components. It is all about enhancing our interoperability and readiness.”
U.S. Army Lt. Col. Arthur McGrue III, served as the branch head of the JWC Advisory Team during the exercise.
“Steadfast Jupiter is important to U.S. national security because it allows the different command structures and forces structures to come together and conduct a computer-assisted exercise to see how well the alliance would do in preparation against the alliance’s adversaries,” said McGrue. “The different headquarters that are participating in the exercise get the opportunity to work on their processes and those processes include analyzing how we would conduct the fight across multiple domains to include space, cyber, land, you name it, and how they would be able to synchronize and integrate those different pieces so we can be successful on the battlefield in terms of the decisions that are made.”
Morris added that the exercise benefits not only the training audience.
“I think a lot of benefits are gained for the participants and a lot is gained for us here at JWC as well, because we get to ensure that doctrine is being applied appropriately and some of the recurring challenges we see throughout our exercises,” said Morris. “We get to see different ways to approach those challenges and find ways to spread that knowledge across the force to make NATO stronger and more capable.
“This exercise is important to the United States because NATO is a critical aspect of our national security.
“I think that through the years we’ve had a fairly long period of peace and stability.
“The current situation is showing us the importance of NATO, and I think the investment the U.S. makes in NATO is absolutely worth it because of the common values we share, and that’s what we’re defending.
“Exercises like Steadfast Jupiter demonstrate that America is an ally that can be trusted to defend the alliance and to help protect those values that we have agreed to uphold.”
U.S Army Sgt. 1st Class Andrew Warneke, who worked in the EXCON Air Response Cell, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance, enjoyed the opportunity to work with a multinational team.
“This exercise was for me a wonderful time to get to know all of the coalition partners’” said Warneke, NATO Alliance Ground Surveillance Force. “We had a lot of different nationalities working together.
“In our cell alone we had five different nationalities. We had Spaniards, Norwegians, Dutch. I was the only American which made it quite entertaining.
“I was also the only native English speaker until we had the Brits come along.
“The best part of this exercise for me was the interaction between all the coalition partners and the way that we were able to coordinate everything and provide the training audience with a valuable experience.
“The U.S. has certain ways of doing things and when you are taught them over and over again with all the training we do, and then you get thrown into a multinational, multi-echelon, multi-domain environment, you have to challenge yourself to not just do it your way.
“We had to find the ways that work best for the whole situation. Each country bringing their own flavor to it and then melding that to make it work in the grander NATO scheme.”
U.S Army Maj. Walter Biner, worked as the G33 for the 1st GNC, during the exercise. A G33 conducts current operations on an Army general staff.
“Steadfast Jupiter is important because it is our certification exercise to be NATO’s Response Force,” said Biner. “The best part of this exercise was being able to see our multi-national partners pull together to create a credible warfighting force.
“The growth we’ve had as a team during our time here was awe inspiring, and I’m honestly humbled to be part of this awesome team.
“This is a great team, and I would go to war with them any day. And I don’t say that lightly.
“They are awesome partners, and I am looking forward to working with them through the rest of my time at 1GNC.”
The mission of U.S. Army NATO Brigade is to provide ready and resilient Soldiers to the NATO alliance by ensuring U.S. Army Soldiers and their families assigned to NATO billets receive the support they need to thrive in a variety of environments at 81 locations in 22 countries across Europe.
| Date Taken: | 10.21.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 10.24.2022 06:58 |
| Story ID: | 431863 |
| Location: | STAVANGER, ROGALAND, NO |
| Web Views: | 259 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
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