Commander Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum, General Hans-Lothar Domröse (the Netherlands) gave an interview to a Lithuanian monthly magazine The Warrior about the ongoing NATO Response Force Exercise Steadfast Jazz 2013, the principle of NATO's Collective Defence and future challenges.
The NATO Response Force (NRF) must be able to respond to the full-spectrum of potential missions, including high-intensity combat. Exercise Steadfast Jazz 2013 is committed to the training of NRF. What kind of military operations will the NRF be trained for during this Exercise?
The NATO Response Force is the "tip of the spear" in terms of NATO's ability to respond to an emerging crisis, which is why realistic and demanding exercises like Steadfast Jazz 2013 are essential for maintaining and enhancing the effectiveness of our deployable forces. The Alliance aim is to have trained, equipped and prepared forces that should be ready to be called upon to deal with an emerging disaster or crisis situation at short notice. So, in the certification process, we are dealing with complex and demanding tasks, such as operational planning, transport of troops and equipment over long distances, establishment of command and control architectures and employment of military forces in response to volatile crisis situations.
In 2014 Joint Force Command Brunssum will be the Standby NRF Command for one year. What composition of the forces and staffs will be in the NRF 2014 and what tasks are set for it?
The NRF 2014 will have the standard composition of a Joint Task Force: a Joint Command element (Joint Force Command Brunssum); single service commands (Land, Maritime, Air and Special Forces) provided by the Rapid Reaction Corps France, the Italian Maritime Force, Joint Force Air Component Command Ramstein and the Italian Joint Special Forces Headquarters; the Multinational Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Battalion with its core element coming from France; and a Joint Logistics Support Group which will be provided by the NATO Rapid Deployable Corps Italy for Steadfast Jazz. The NRF has roughly 13,000 high-readiness troops provided by Allies. This force gives NATO the means to respond swiftly to various types of crises anywhere in the world.
Lithuania has successfully accomplished its mission together with NATO and other nations, as part of ISAF in Afghanistan. Now the Exercise Steadfast Jazz 2013 incorporates one of the largest NATO live exercises in recent years. What can we expect to be demonstrated or learned during this Exercise by NATO itself and its friends?
NATO is gradually reducing its presence in Afghanistan, and therefore our efforts are starting to shift to a contingency posture. Thus, it is imperative that NATO remains vigilant and is prepared to meet future challenges and threats with agile, capable and interoperable military forces. NATO has achieved an unprecedented level of cohesiveness among Allies and partner forces in the past decade of combat operations and is operating as a seamless integrated team. The Alliance intends to maintain this level of cohesion by intensifying education, training and exercises. Steadfast Jazz 2013 is one of the first steps towards achieving this aim.
Steadfast Jazz is the first exercise in the series since 2006 to include a live exercise component and to have a Collective Defence scenario. Why has NATO incorporated a live exercise element after a 7-year break? What were the main reasons for choosing a Collective Defence scenario and for arranging the exercise in the territory of new member states on NATO's Eastern and Northeastern borders?
This is indeed the first exercise of a joint level to include live element since 2006 and, to reinforce the answer to the previous question, the best way to ensure NATO has the capable and well trained forces it needs is to organize the events like Steadfast Jazz. The locations of the exercise were offered by participating nations and accepted by the Alliance some time ago. We have to remember that this exercise is taking place not only in Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, but also in Belgium, Norway, Italy, Germany and the Netherlands. NATO is a collective defence organisation, so choosing a Collective Defence scenario for one of its exercises is logical.
It was said that the Exercise will involve a "sizeable cyber threat". Could you explain a little bit more about the reasons to include it, possible threats and cyber defence capabilities during the exercise?
We all know that cyber threats are real and that they are growing. All governments and organizations have to be prepared to face cyber challenges. In NATO, we are reviewing our own computer systems and investing in the appropriate technology and manpower to counter the developing threat of cyber attacks. This exercise provides a great opportunity not only to test our cyber defense, but also to train how to deal with the wider consequences of such attacks, because very often cyber-attacks can have significant impact across governmental and private sectors alike.
For you as a Joint Force Commander, the most difficult task will be to command and lead multinational NATO forces during the Exercise and in real life if the NRF 2014 is activated. What challenges do you see concerning that responsibility?
We live in a dynamic world, which is why NATO places great importance on ensuring that its forces are trained, equipped and prepared, should they be called upon to deal with an emerging disaster or crisis situation at short notice - that is probably the greatest challenge, to provide timely and effective assistance whenever needed.
Military training and development never stops, even during conflicts the military continues training and developing its forces. What will be the next steps in NATO forces under your command in terms of training and development after Steadfast Jazz 2013, especially in NATO's Eastern and Northeastern borders?
It is a natural cycle. After certification within Steadfast Jazz 2013 my headquarters will be ready to assume command of the NATO Response Force 2014 if it is activated; in 2014 we will continue maintaining/testing our ability to respond by participating in a range of exercises (CPX, CAX, etc.) in order to sustain the necessary high level of force readiness. Following that, in 2015, we will embark upon the preparations for our role as a Standby NRF Command for 2016 with a similar large-scale exercise at the end of 2015. The NATO Response Force itself provides visible assurance of NATO's cohesion and commitment to deterrence and collective defense.
We may say that we have entered the post-ISAF environment after the end of operations in Afghanistan. How could NATO prove its commitment to remain an effective and enduring military Alliance capable of acting under a variety of conditions?
Before answering your question I would like to stress that when our combat mission is completed at the end of 2014, NATO will not walk away from Afghanistan. The Alliance will stay in Afghanistan with a new and different mission to train, advise and assist the Afghan forces, as part of the continued effort of the International Community.
NATO has proven its value. It is a full-time Alliance of 28 countries, not an ad hoc coalition. Our Allies plan, practice and prepare to collectively defend Alliance security every single day. NATO is the only military alliance with an integrated military command. That means that when we need to take action, we can do it fast, as we did in Libya, or the recent rapid and efficient deployment of Patriot missiles to Turkey. Indeed, the Patriot deployment to Turkey was a clear justification for continuous training and exercises.
Does NATO have any other plans to demonstrate to its partners and allies it possesses the necessary capabilities to act as their prime guarantor for continued security?
NATO allows us to jointly tackle challenges such as terrorism, cyber-attacks and crisis situations in a cohesive, rapid and effective manner. This is the most effective security team in the world. It has proven that many times before and it proves it as we speak. And, one should not forget that NATO still leads 6 missions: ISAF in Afghanistan; Active Endeavour in the Mediterranean; KFOR in Kosovo; Ocean Shield primarily in the Horn of Africa and Gulf of Aden; Baltic Air Policing; and the Operation Active Fence (Patriots) in Turkey.
