Commander JFC Brunssum, General Guglielmo Luigi Miglietta, welcomed Lieutenant General Gaulin who as COM RRC FRA is the Land Component Commander of the NATO Response Force for 2022 (NRF 22).
The main purpose of the visit was to exchange views on the current strategic situation in Europe, future training and Exercises, and the ways in which the Alliance might adapt to evolving challenges on the road to NATO’s New Force Model agreed by the leaders at the last NATO Summit in Madrid.
The meeting provided also the opportunity to discuss the activities of NRF 22 as the hand over to NRF 23 approaches. General Miglietta thanked Commander RRC FRA for the strong commitment of his forces shown throughout the year.
With the year coming to a close, we can look back on a successful period
General Miglietta said, with particular focus on February 2022 when, in response to Russia’s brutal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, NATO activated high-readiness elements of the NRF for the first time in a deterrence and defence role.
In March and April 2022, elements of the NATO Response Force also participated in exercise Cold Response 2022 in Norway, which brought together over 30,000 troops from 27 countries.
The exercise tested the NRF’s ability to reinforce Norway and integrate with the armed forces of other Allies and partners to defend NATO territory.
The NRF provides the Alliance with a range of swift and credible military options from which to respond to unforeseen contingencies. It is based on a rotational system, where Allies commit land, air, maritime or Special Operations Forces (SOF) units for a period of 12 months.
The Operational Command of the NRF also lasts for a year, and alternates between JFC Brunssum and JFC Naples. By the end of 2023, NATO aims to evolve to a New Force Model, which will eventually see the 40,000-strong NRF replaced by over 200,000 high-readiness troops and at least 500,000 follow-on forces drawn from across the Alliance.