NAPLES, Italy - Meteorologists from the Alliance gathered for the second NATO Response Force Meteorology and Oceanography (METOC) Seminar March 5-8 at Allied Joint Force Command Naples.
Seminar organizers said weather has significant effects on planning and conducting military operations, and is essential in achieving objectives and optimizing performance of weapons, sensors, and equipment during an NRF operation or exercise.
The METOC support provided during JFCNP NRF certification exercise Trident Juncture 18 was a demonstration of the importance of coordination between METOC staff from NATO to deliver support for the exercise.
Canada is responsible for providing the raw weather data to NATO for NRF, allowing the METOC community from the Alliance to use that data to forecast the weather and brief the impact on operations to their respective command groups.
NATO and nations discussed the NRF and METOC support. There was one practical day dedicated to training on the NATO Automated Meteorological Information System (NAMIS), the official NATO METOC system.
Italian Army Colonel Maurizio Parri, Director of JFC Naples Joint Operation Center, Seminar, welcomed attendees. The METOC section head, Italian Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Luigi Verzelletti, and his team hosted the event.
Nineteen representatives from the Alliance, partner organisations, and national meteorological services attended.
The METOC team at JFC HQ Naples produces daily weather forecasts for the command team, focusing on exercises and operations such as Operation Sea Guardian and the Kosovo Force and the impact that the weather is having in the land, air, and maritime operational environments.
Story by JFC Naples Public Affairs Office