On November 1-12 Lithuania will host NATO Exercise Steadfast Juncture 2011 organised by the Allied Joint Force Command (JFC) based in Brunssum (the Netherlands) at the Lithuanian Armed Forces' Pabradės Training Area.
According to the Exercise scenario a fictitious NATO-led crisis response operation will be conducted and humanitarian assistance delivered under a United Nations' mandate.
Steadfast Juncture 2011 is a NATO command post exercise aimed at certifying NATO Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum (JFC) Headquarters and Allied Force Command (FC) Headquarters Heidelberg Deployable Joint Staff Element (DJSE 2) to command and control a multinational deployed force for NATO Response Force (NRF) 2012 standby period.
The Exercise will involve participants from the NATO Deployable Corps (Greece, Thessaloniki), Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO (Naples, Italy), Joint Force Component Air Headquarters (Kalkar, Germany), Spanish Army Special Operations Command (Alicante, Spain), NATO Joint Warfare Centre in (Stavanger, Norway), Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear Battalion (the Czech Republic) and the Lithuanian Armed Forces.
Exercise Steadfast Juncture 2011 will be held simultaneously in Lithuania and several neighboring countries while control and command will be provided via NATO communications and information channels. In Lithuanian the Exercise will take place at the Pabradės Training Area and the Warfare Training Centre in Nemenčinė. Other NATO members are foreseen to deploy several hundreds of military personnel in Lithuania for the Exercise period.
The NATO Response Force (NRF) is a high-readiness technologically advanced force including land, air, naval and special operations components and able to move quickly whenever needed to operations in part of the world.
NATO organizes military exercises on a regular basis to maintain readiness of NRF and ensure its capacity of rapid deployment into the operation theatre. NATO exercise programme is permanently revised and renewed. Exercises held across the Alliance countries on a steady basis demonstrate NATO's readiness and capacity.
More information about the Exercise at: http://www.jfcbs.nato.int/jfcbrunssum/SFJE2011.aspx
For media:
NATO Media Information Centre will operate at Gen Adolfas Ramanauskas Warfare Training Centre from November 1 to 12.
Media Day of Steadfast Juncture 2011 will take place on November 3 at the Warfare Training Centre in Nemenčinė and the Pabradės Training Area. Supplementary information will be provided before the event.
POC for more information: Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum, Public Affairs Division: 00 31 45 526 2409, e-mail: pao@jfcbs.nato.int/,
PAO for LITHAF JHQ Capt Marius Varna, 00370 686 35 407, e-mail: marius.varna@mil.lt
