JORSTADMOEN, Norway – NATO Allied Land Command (LANDCOM) sent two Deployable Land Elements (DLE) to Norway to participate in NATO’s Trident Juncture Exercise, Nov. 9 to Nov. 20, 2018. The Land Component Command - North (LCC-N) operated as a Divisional Headquarters (HQ) and the second DLE as the Command and Control HQ for real life issues or "Local Operations Control” (LOPSCON).

 

The purpose of NATO’s Trident Juncture exercise is to demonstrate our readiness and interoperability to the world and train as a united fighting force to contribute to the collective defense of Europe. More than 50,000 troops, 10,000 combat vehicles, 250 aircraft and 60 ships participated in the exercise from 29 NATO member nations and two partner nations, Finland and Sweden, to provide peace and security in the region.

 

The leaders maintained high standards and in his initial brief to the staff, the LCC-N Commander, Brigadier General Janos Somogyi of the Hungarian Army, LANDCOM’s Deputy Chief of Staff (CoS) for Operations, gave his expectations. "You represent LANDCOM and your nations and remember, everything we do is for the soldier

 

LCC-N deployed to Jorstadmoen and included 72 soldiers who assumed the role of a Component Command and acted as a division level headquarters synchronizing the daily activity of three multinational brigades. These multinational brigades led by 5th Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group, Norway’s Brigade North and the 2nd Swedish Brigade participated in force on force engagements against the Southern Force. The Southern Force consisted of three multinational brigades from Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom under LCC-South provided by the 1st German / Netherland Corps.

 

The second DLE deployed to Roros and included 54 soldiers to support LOPSCON, which provided exercise control support for the exercise. LOPSCON included elements from the Norwegian Armed Forces, the Norwegian national police and other agencies of the Norwegian government.

 

The LCC-N CoS described the way ahead. "These field training exercises [are] what we need to do more of in the future,” said British Army Simon Thomsett, LANDCOM’s Assistant CoS for Operations, "to demonstrate our readiness, our reinforcement, and our willingness to do the job that NATO is here to do.”