NATO kicked off the Alliance’s largest exercise for over a decade named Exercise Trident Juncture 2015 at the Trapani air force base in Italy.
It is the largest exercise conducted by NATO since 2002, involving 36,000 personnel from more than 30 NATO Allied and partner nations.
The exercise will take place throughout Italy, Portugal, Spain, the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea and also Canada, Norway, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.
Trident Juncture 2015 will demonstrate NATO’s new increased level of ambition in joint modern warfare and will show-case a capable, forward-leading Alliance equipped with the appropriate capability and capacity to meet present and future security challenges.
More than 12 major International Organizations, aid agencies and non-governmental organisations, such as the EU and AU will also participate in the exercise, demonstrating NATO’s commitment and contribution to a comprehensive approach.
As the culminating event for units, military and civilian staff belonging to more than 30 participating Nations, Trident Juncture 2015 will provide an opportunity for them to refine their operational capabilities.
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Air, Land, Maritime, and Special Forces will participate simultaneously in several locations and from different Headquarters to train in a complex environment to improve Alliance’s full spectrum capabilities.
At the conclusion of Trident Juncture 2015, the Headquarters Staff from Joint Force Command Brunssum will be officially certified to lead the NATO Response Force, if activated, throughout 2016.
According to NATO, “Trident Juncture will increase our readiness and our ability to work together, including with our partners. It will demonstrate that NATO is capable of responding to threats from any direction.”
The exercise will demonstrate NATO’s new increased level of ambition in joint modern warfare and will showcase a capable, forward-leading Alliance equipped with the appropriate capability and capacity to meet present and future security challenges.
The military exercise will continue until Nov. 6.