Noble Jump 2015 – The Spearhead

The North Atlantic Alliance has already had a rapid reaction unit – the NATO Response Force (NRF) – since 2003. The recently reinforced, some 30,000-strong Dutch-led unit has the core mission of giving immediate response to any security threats. Further tasks include crisis management, peace support and disaster relief operations. Formed in 2015 and making its debut at the exercise in Poland, the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF) is designed to take this capability one level further by being capable of deploying a 5,000-strong force in 48 hours anytime anywhere. “Today we have written history", Polish Deputy Prime Minister Tomasz Siemoniak said on June 18, the distinguished visitors’ day of Exercise Noble Jump 2015. “We have witnessed how NATO is working and how the decisions of the last Summit have been implemented. I would like to thank the soldiers for creating and operating this spearhead", he added.

Mr. Siemoniak pointed out that the day of the operational force making its debut gives cause for optimism ahead of the 2016 Warsaw Summit. “I can state that we are ready to work hard for making the Warsaw Summit a great success."

In his speech, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the exercise is a perfect expression of what NATO represents. “At the last Summit, we decided to increase our readiness, and today we have seen here the spearhead force. I am impressed by what I’ve seen."

On the distinguished visitors’ day of Exercise Noble Jump running between 10-21 June, the participating nations held dynamic shows to demonstrate their existing capabilities and those that they have acquired in the last few weeks.

During the exercise, altogether 15,000 troops from 22 nations executed various tasks. Hungary was represented by the soldiers of the HDF Civil-Military Cooperation and Psychological Operations Centre. “Our team was declared to the VJTF early this year. Our main mission was a bit different from our general set of tasks, because we had to survey the level of being informed about the exercise and NATO among the population in an area of 30 square kilometers", Lt. Grácia Korom, the Evaluation Officer of CIMIC Team 1 of the Center told us. She added that “the local people were less informed about the objectives and conduct of the exercise, but when we told them what it was about and why it was running, they wholly supported it.

While addressing the soldiers lined up in front of him, Gen. Philip M. Breedlove, Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) expressed pride in what he had seen. Brig.-Gen. C. J. Kees Matthijssen, the commander of the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force also congratulated the troops. As he said, they have proven themselves and can deservedly be proud of being members of this special unit.

Photos by the author