Brunssum, the Netherlands – As the end of 2020 draws close General Jörg Vollmer, Commander Allied
Joint Force Command Brunssum (JFCBS), hosted a virtual NRF20 Closure Event on 8th
December 2020.
JFC Brunssum assumed standby command responsibility from JFC Naples (JFCNP) for NRF20 on 1st January 2020. The NRF standby command task rotates annually between JFCBS and JFCNP on the 1st January each year. The standby command, however, is not idle. Throughout the year, it is responsible to ensure forces comprising the standby NRF are kept at high levels of readiness. This year the vehicle to ensure that readiness was Exercise Brilliant Jump.
Exercise Brilliant Jump 20 was conducted in two parts: The first, an ALERTEX, took place in January whilst the second, a DEPLOYEX, was executed – in two phases – in October and November.
The ALERTEX
was conducted in January, and was based upon the activation of the NRF’s Very
High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF), including the NRF Component Commands. Phase 1 of the DEPLOYEX, in October, saw maritime elements drawn from Standing Naval Maritime Group 1, comprising three warships - the Portuguese Frigate NRP Corte-Real, the Canadian Frigate HMCS Toronto and the Belgian Frigate BNS Leopold I – deploy from southern Europe to Scotland. Phase 2 comprised of a land deployment to Lithuania with approximately 2.500 troops from three NATO nations – Poland, Spain and the Czech Republic – travelling to military training areas in the East of the country.
Participating land units comprised a Brigade HQ, Spearhead Battalion, Special Forces and CBRN Task Force HQ (all provided by Poland) and an Infantry Battalion from Spain, a Mechanised Battalion from the Czech Republic and a Mechanised Company from Lithuania. These forces were under the command of Multinational Corps North-East (MNC-NE).
In his remarks during the closure event General Vollmer mentioned that the impact of recurring challenges is that it will not be possible for all NRF units to train together in future and, as a consequence, force integration training is required as part of the development of forces. In addition, for 2020, despite unprecedented challenges presented by the global pandemic all NRF units maintained required readiness levels throughout, despite limited exercise and training opportunities.
Furthermore, our view into the near future has been sharpened: According to General Vollmer, the focus should be on further raising awareness of processes, procedures and permissions in order to create challenging training opportunities, improve training methods and maximise coordination.
General Vollmer took the opportunity to declare his satisfaction with the performance NRF 20 units stating: “We are a successful team, through our experiences this year we have learned much and are now looking forward to support colleagues earmarked to form NRF 21. And, in a year of unprecedented challenge due to COVID-19, I am particularly impressed by your professionalism throughout.”
Reiterating “Mission accomplished!” General Vollmer brought the video conference to an end.