Largest NATO exercise has 1650 CAF members participate

Said to be the largest NATO exercise since 2002, the CAF is participating in Trident Juncture as part of JOINTEX 15. Held in various host countries across Europe, Trident Juncture consists of 36,000 troops from more than 30 nations.

In a statement released, the Commander of the Canadian Multinational Task Force, Major-General Dean Milner said, “It[JOINTEX] has enabled the CAF the opportunity to integrate with our NATO partners within a complex training scenario that leverages all facets of Full Spectrum Operations and reemphasizes the Whole of Government approach that has, and will continue to be, critical to CAF operations. My team has taken a leading role in showcasing the CAF’s dedication to excellence on operations and leadership on the world stage.”

JOINTEX 15 was held in three stages. The first stage was the training of Canadian Forces Intelligence Command and 1st Canadian Division Headquarters senior staff in Kingston, ON in Jan. and Feb. of this year. The second was the training of approximately 1,000 Multinational Joint Integrated Task Force staff in a 24/7 command post exercise in Meaford, ON. Held from Sept. to Oct., this exercise was synchronized with the NATO Joint Warfare Center in Stavanger, Norway.

The third stage is Trident Juncture 15. The exercise began Oct.3 in Zaragoza, Spain with the Command Post Exercise (CPX) for Strategic and Operational level staff. CPX ended Oct. 16. The next portion is LIVEX, for tactical level troops engagements, which will begin Oct.  21 and will run through Nov. 6.  It is being hosted by Portugal, Spain, and Italy. Portions of the exercise will also be at sea.

Close to 1650 CAF members are participating in TRIDENT JUNCTURE 15.

This NATO exercise is being led by Joint Force Command Brunssum in the Netherlands. The CAF is hoping that TRIDENT JUNCTURE will synchronize a nation-wide training scenario to achieve efficiency amongst the various branches of the military.

At the conclusion of Trident Juncture 2015, Headquarters Staff from Joint Force Command Brunssum will be officially certified to lead the NATO Response Force, if activated throughout 2016.

In a press release General Hans Lothar Domröse, the Commander of Joint Force Command Brunssum said,  “Trident Juncture 2015 has been designed to ensure that our concepts and procedures will work in the event of a real crisis because our job is to always be prepared to defend the people, territory, and values of this Alliance.”

The objectives of JOINTEX 15 are to practice and improve national contingency plans; practice and improve CAF ability to command and conduct joint forces in operations; advance, integrate and evaluate force development and joint force capability enhancement and develop and document the CAF Distributed Training and Simulation Capability.