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Commander JFC Brunssum visits Multinational Division North-East, Poland

Elblag and Orzysz, Poland – General Farina visited Multinational Division North-East (MND-NE) and the US-led enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) Battlegroup. This is the final leg in his trip to visit all of the Battlegroups comprising NATO’s enhanced Forward Presence, which he started in November 2017.

On Monday in Elblag the MND-NE Commander, Brigadier General Krzysztof Motacki, updated General Farina on the latest developments in the Divisional Headquarters and presented his integration plan with NATO for the upcoming months. During his address to the staff of MND-NE, General Farina expressed his gratitude for their professionalism, determination and hard work in seamlessly integrating this new headquarters into the existing NATO structure. General Farina also addressed the future role that MND-NE will play as a ‘higher headquarters’ for all four Battlegroups.

On Tuesday General Farina visited Gizycko, home of the 15th Mechanized Brigade, and Orzysz, where the US-led eFP battlegroup is presently stationed. Brigadier General Jaroslaw Gromadzinski and Lieutenant Colonel Scott Cheney emphasized their close relationship within the brigade structure and highlighted crucial capabilities that ensure their mutual support. Similarly to other battlegroups, the US-led element in Poland is nested under a national brigade and, as underlined by the Brigade Commander, is considered as an additional battalion, fully integrated into the wider structure.

As with the earlier visit to the Baltic States (November 2017), the JFC Brunssum Commander presented his operational vision for the land-based eFP Battlegroups to integrate their deterrence and defence efforts with both air and maritime assets to create joint effects. According to the JFC Brunssum Commander, the Alliance’s enhanced Forward Presence should be used as a ‘catalyst for progress’. Battlegroups – being the land component of NATO’s deterrence and defence posture in the East, should expand their integration with both air and maritime assets. The Commander emphasized five lines of effort that JFC Brunssum would pursue to achieve this, including Capability and Requirement Development, Cross Domain Collaboration and Contribution, Training and Exercise Synchronization, Integrated Defence Planning, and Joint Situational Awareness.