WIESBADEN, Germany --U.S. Army Europe and Fort Hood, Texas, Soldiers will be working alongside multinational Soldiers from 17 countries for the upcoming NATO exercise Steadfast Jazz 13, in Poland and Norway, Oct. 27 through Nov. 9.
Steadfast Jazz 13 trains participants on command and control as well as interoperability with regional partners. It is comprised of a brigade-level command post exercise, computer assisted exercise, and a battalion-level live fire exercise.
"U.S. Army Europe's participation in Steadfast Jazz 13 is one way we demonstrate our strong national commitment to NATO," said USAREUR Commander Lt. Gen. Donald Campbell. "As the bulk of NATO forces end or reduce our deployments, it's in our collective security interest to build on the gains we've made in our interoperability and combined operations over twelve-years of war.
The multilateral, multifaceted exercise is designed to enhance combined interoperability between NATO and partner nations in the region. It trains, tests and certifies the NATO Response Force, and allows NATO to test interoperability of member nation forces.
"The U.S. Army's participation in the upcoming Steadfast Jazz exercise provides an excellent opportunity to build partner capacity and enhance regional cooperation," said Jeffrey Parmer, the exercise planner for the exercise.
The exercise contains a full spectrum of potential conflict scenarios, including collective defense. It is the latest in the Steadfast series, in which U.S. troops train with NATO and partner nation militaries.
"This type of exercise allows USAREUR's forward-deployed forces, existing enabling and sustainment capabilities, combined with the employment of our CONUS-based regionally-aligned forces, to maintain those gains and have agile and adaptive capabilities to meet future security challenges," said Campbell.
1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, also known as the "Ironhorse Brigade," is European Command's first Regionally Aligned Force and will have approximately 60 Soldiers participating in the exercise. These Soldiers will form the response cells at the brigade and battalion level, which will be part of the command post exercise.
Regionally Aligned Forces is the U.S. Army's method for providing trained and specialized Soldiers in the regions they are assigned.
Parmer says that the 250 Soldiers from U.S. Army Europe and the "Ironhorse Brigade" represent the reinvigoration of U.S. participation in the NRF and the enduring U.S. commitment to NATO, Europe, and regional stability and prosperity.
According to NATO officials, the purpose of the NRF is to defend any ally, deploy anywhere and deal with any threat. It is designed to be a highly ready and a technologically-advanced multinational force made up of land, air, and maritime components that the alliance can quickly deploy globally.
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