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Mircea Dusa at NATO: Over 100 international exercises planned in Romania in 2015
Over 100 international exercises will be planned in Romania in 2015, said defence minister Mircea Dusa on Wednesday at the North Atlantic Council meeting. He also pointed out the progress made in reviewing NATO response force.
According to a Defence Ministry press release, the North Atlantic Council meeting held on Wednesday in Brussels with defence ministers was devoted mainly to analysing the stage and prospects of implementing the NATO Action Plan for operational capacity increase in the conditions of significant security changes.
“The progress made in improving the NATO Response Force is a formula that better answers present threats,” said minister Dusa. In the context of continuing safety allied measures, minister Dusa pointed out that 100 international exercises had been planned for 2015 and Romania is the host of Trident Joust, a first both for Romanian soldiers and the Allied Command gathered in Naples.”
According to the site jfcnaples.nato.int, 1,000 soldiers from 25 NATO member countries and 200 from Romania will participate in Trident Joust.
Admiral Mark Ferguson: Trident Joust proves the adaptation capability of the allied forces within a joint command
Allied Joint Force Command (JFC) Naples Commander, Admiral Mark Ferguson told a news conference in Fagaras on Thursday, on the Distinguished Visitors Day of Trident Joust 15 exercise that NATO for the first time, by means of the exercise in nearby Cincu, Brasov county proves its capability to physically move the control centre from one location to another.
Trident Joust proves the adaptation capability of the allied forces within a joint command, which act as NATO response forces. Also, for the first time by means of this exercise our capability is proved to physically change the control centre from one location to another during an exercise scenario, Admiral Ferguson said.
According to the JFC Naples Commander, Cincu exercise involves 25 nations and over 1,000 persons, who participate in a deployment environment focused on collective defence "as appears in article V of the scenario that lies at the basis of our action".
Taking part in the exercise are units from Italy, Romania and Bulgaria, but this also entails the achievement of a connection with the Romanian live-fire military exercise Viforul 15, in which 150 soldiers are taking part. Furthermore, in Sofia, Bulgaria, the Common Logistic Support Group is served by 100 soldiers and acts as part of the Allied Joint Force Command Naples, it acts as a logistic command of the operation theatre in order to help Trident Joust 15, Admiral Ferguson underscored.
Also participating in the Distinguished Visitors Day were Romania's Chief of General Staff Lieutenant General Nicolae Ciuca and JFC Deputy Commander, Lieutenant General Michael Day.
Participating in Trident Joust 15 being conducted in Cincu June 17 through 28 are, for the first time, structures of the Joint Force Command Naples temporarily moved to Romania; the transfer of the command and control of the NATO Response Force to this temporary location was also achieved for the first time.
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Regarding the European Activity Set (EAS), the US Embassy in Bucharest sent the following:
In coordination with our Allies, the United States intends to place temporarily approximately 250 tanks, Bradleys, and self-propelled howitzers, and associated armored brigade combat team equipment in Baltic and Central European countries in order to support training and exercises by rotational units deployed to Europe. This equipment set, termed the European Activity Set (EAS), will consist of company- to battalion-size equipment sets located on the territory of several NATO Allies including: Bulgaria, Estonia, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Romania.
Background
Since early March 2014, the United States has taken action, both bilaterally and through NATO, to reassure Allies of the ironclad U.S. commitment to collective defense. The United States, along with NATO Allies, has established a persistent, rotational air, land, and sea presence in the Baltic and Central European countries. This presence is an appropriate and important show of support to Allies that are deeply concerned by Russia’s military actions in Ukraine.
In June 2014, President Obama announced the European Reassurance Initiative (ERI). In his remarks, the President noted that the United States would explore initiatives including placement of such military equipment in Allied countries.
The Carl Levin and Howard P. “Buck” McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year (FY) 2015 and Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015 provided $985 million in ERI funding that enables DoD to continue its efforts to reassure our NATO Allies and bolster the security and capacity of our partners in the region. The ERI included line-item operation and maintenance funding to increase the amount of equipment to support a full brigade and to refurbish equipment storage facilities.
EAS Concept
The EAS concept is activity-focused and is intended to provide equipment for exercises and training along NATO’s eastern flank. Proposed EAS storage sites were selected based on their proximity to the training ranges where we expect the equipment to be used most often. Forward placement will help reduce transportation costs and enable the maximum amount of training days for deployed forces. To demonstrate the U.S. Armed Forces’ freedom of movement in the region, U.S. European Command (USEUCOM) will routinely move the equipment throughout Europe to support training and exercises.
In the framework of Operation Atlantic Resolve (OAR), EAS equipment will be integrated with, and supportive of, the NATO Alliance in building defense capability and capacity cooperatively. Through its use of EAS and in the context of OAR, the United States is pursuing a dynamic approach to demonstrating U.S. commitment to NATO and contributing to initial aspects of deterrence by developing Allied interoperability through a variety of training and exercises.