JFC Brunssum and Naples fully synchronized to meet NATO current and future challenges

Brunssum, Netherlands - General Salvatore Farina, Commander Allied Joint Force Command (JFC) Brunssum, and Admiral Michelle Howard, Commander JFC Naples, co-chaired a NATO Response Force (NRF) Commanders’ Conference in Naples, 21/22 March.

The Naples conference brought all Commanders of force components and elements that comprise NRFs 2017 and 2018 together in order to enhance relationships, generate debate and ensure the alignment of all involved stakeholders in executing NRF stand-by responsibilities. As part of a series of NRF Commanders’ conferences, the spring 2017 event was the first Bi-JFC co-conducted gathering dedicated to NRF discussions. General Farina emphasized that the alternating responsibility and the required readiness of both JFCs "has ultimately led us to the decision to make this a co-sponsored event.” Furthermore, he underlined this as being another expression of the close cooperation between all NATO Command and NATO Force Structure entities.

The conference was a milestone for initiating further progress in providing a common situational awareness. The open and productive discussions during the conference fostered the synchronization of future work and facilitated the development of effective solutions. With regard to upcoming challenges for NRF 2018 preparation, General Farina stressed even more that all entities "must coordinate very closely and support each other whenever and wherever possible in order to achieve the best possible outcome.” The conference laid the foundation to discover viable ways for the accomplishment of allocated goals.

General Farina expressed his thanks to Admiral Howard as the local host and all Commanders and participants for their attendance.

The NRF is a highly ready and technologically advanced joint multinational force able to react in a very short time to a wide range of security challenges. The NRF is being enhanced via a number of initiatives. One is the establishment of a relatively new ‘spearhead force’, the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF), that has improved NRF reaction time and, in so doing, bolstered the Alliance’s collective defence capability. In a crisis situation the North Atlantic Council would authorize activation of the NRF; the force would be commanded by the JFC Commander on stand-by. Stand-by NRF command rotates annually between the two JFC Commanders; for 2017 the task falls to Commander JFC Naples.

Story by JFC Brunssum Public Affairs Office