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NATO Rapid Deployable Corps Turkey Assumes NATO Response Force Role

On the first day of the New Year, NATO Rapid Deployable Corps Turkey (NRDC-Turkey) took over from Eurocorps as the land component of the NATO Response Force (NRF) for 2021. The hand-over was formalised in a COVID-compliant event at NRDC-Turkey’s headquarters in Istanbul, 12 January.

Photo credit - Public Affairs Office LANDCOM,  NRDC-Turkey Commander Lt Gen. Kemal Yeni delivers remarks following assumption of the NRF land component mission from Eurocorps.

Estonian Naval Vessel Joins SNMCMG1

Earlier this week, 11 January, the Estonian Navy minehunter, the ‘EML Ugandi’ departed its homeport in Tallinn, Estonia, and headed for Belgium to join the other vessels that currently make up Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 1 (SNMCMG1).

Estonia has a strong, 10-year tradition of contributing to SNMCMG1: having had at least one vessel as a part of the naval force for the entirety of this period.

SNMCMG1 has taken on various tasks over the course of its almost 50 years of mine hunting, one of the most prominent being the continuing work to remove leftover explosives from the world wars.

Photo credit - Maria Tõkke, Eesti Merevägi, Estonian sailors wave from aboard EML Ugandi as they depart Tallinn.

eFP BG Lithuania Rehearses Bridge Construction and Demolition

Over the course of the last two weeks, engineers from eFP BG Lithuania (Enhanced Forward Presence Battlegroup Lithuania) has been busy with bridge construction and demolition exercises. The Dutch and German engineers involved have made full use of their deployment to Lithuania, which has provided a number of unparalleled opportunities to practise the skills and drills that are an invaluable part of an engineer’s skillset.

The training proceeded in two phases: in the first, eight engineers built the bridge at a rapid pace, finishing in just 6 days. Then in the second, three squads took on the challenge of the demolition: working together under simulated battle conditions and ensuring the incapacitation of the bridge in a controlled explosion; finishing off the training with a bang.

Photo credit - Public Affairs Office eFP Lithuania, the resulting explosion.