NAPLES, Italy – The headquarters of Allied Joint Force Command Naples are back in Italy following an exercise at the Bydgoszcz, Poland-based Joint Force Training Centre.

 

The exercise, dubbed Trident Joust 2017, ran from Sept. 11 to 20, 2017.

During Trident Joust, troops and civilians from JFC Naples, with additional augmentation provided by other headquarters and partner nations, trained as the NATO Response Force. Staff members were challenged with an exercise scenario focused on hybrid threats within a non-Article 5 crisis response operation.

Some of the challenges the operational headquarters were faced with involved communications jamming, riots, terror activity and heightening tensions from nations threatening a NATO member. The goal of the crew from Naples was to prevent an escalation of hostilities and to maintain the territorial sovereignty of a fellow Alliance member.

"The exercise was challenging and it forced us to operate outside of a traditional conflict-driven scenario,” said Canadian Army Lieutenant-General Christian Juneau, commander of the NRF and deputy commander of JFC Naples. "I’m pleased with our staff as this exercise further demonstrates the professionalism and readiness of our team to answer any call that may come our way.”

Role players added a sense of realism to the exercise as a news team published daily products and interviewed participants, local and national officials held meetings with key leaders from the NRF, and international and non-governmental organizations were portrayed.

Exercise organizers said the cooperation and coordination that sections conducted throughout Trident Joust aided the team’s path to success.

The NRF, launched in 2002, is a highly ready and technologically advanced, multinational force made up of land, air, maritime and Special Operations Forces components that the Alliance can deploy quickly, wherever needed. The decision to deploy the NRF is taken by the North Atlantic Council, NATO’s highest political decision-making body.