Bodø, Norway – General Jӧrg Vollmer, Commander Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum (JFCBS) visited Norway this week for discussions with Norwegian senior officers from 10-12 November.
Norway has been an important NATO member from the very start, and this relationship remains as strong as ever
Norway is a key member of the NATO Alliance and, next year, will play host to two large-scale multinational exercises. The first, Exercise Brilliant Jump, is a Deployment Exercise of NATO's Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF) to Southern Norway. The second, Exercise Cold Response, is a biennial Norwegian-led multinational exercise, which next year will feature over 30,000 troops – including the VJTF and other NATO Response Force elements.
These exercises, and their context in broader Alliance strategic deterrence and defence initiatives, were a major topic for discussion during the General's engagements.
The visit started in Oslo, where General Vollmer first met with the German Ambassador to Norway, His Excellency Alfred Grannas, to discuss German-Norwegian military cooperation in the context of NATO Defence Planning. He then met the Norwegian Chief of Defence, General Eirik Kristoffersen, with whom topics under discussion included deterrence, defence and interoperability.
The following day, General Vollmer travelled to Bodø to meet Lieutenant General Yngve Odlo, Commander of the Norwegian Joint Headquarters (NJHQ). NJHQ is the headquarters in charge of all Norwegian military operations and joint combined exercises, including Exercise Cold Response next year.
Speaking during the trip, General Vollmer said, "Norway has been an important NATO member from the very start, and this relationship remains as strong as ever. We know that today's security challenges can only be overcome if we work together, and we look forward to our upcoming collaboration on Exercises Brilliant Jump and Cold Response."