NATO Back-to-Back Training Exercises Begin

• The NATO NCI Agency will supply the exercises with a deployable mission network, the NRF22
• All facets of the Agency work together, maintaining open lines of communication to ensure that technology and services are available continuously

The NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCI Agency) is providing Communications and Information Systems (CIS) support to Exercise Brilliant Jump (BRJU) and exercise Cold Response (CR22), taking place from now through 1 April 2022.

BRJU is an alert and deployment exercise involving naval, air and land forces from across the Alliance. The main objectives of BRJU are to enhance the deployable capabilities of NATO, and to demonstrate the readiness and mobility of the NATO Response Force's (NRF) Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF). This year, both exercises will be linked.

The NATO Response Force (NRF) is a joint multinational force capable of providing rapid military response during times of crisis. The Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF), a "spearhead force" within the NRF, contains over 5,000 multinational forces capable of deploying within two or three days. During BRJU, the NRF and the VJTF were evaluated on their ability to deploy large numbers of equipment and troops to Norway.

Directed by Allied Joint Force Command (JFC) Brunssum, NATO forces in France, Italy, Poland and Spain received a NATO alert order to prepare for a mission with only a few days to deploy. In addition to the continuous support provided to JFC Brunssum, the Agency supplied the exercises with a deployable mission network, the NRF22, which was used by JFC Brunssum to communicate with the NATO Response Force and direct them during the deployment portion of the exercises.

Agency teams helped the exercise participants, who are from different military specializations, to work together in a cohesive and efficient manner. They ensured that the communications systems, satellite and logistics applications needed to command and control the NATO forces were stable and secure throughout the exercise.

To guarantee that the exercises' objectives are met without interruption, several of the Agency's CIS Support Units (CSU) and their technicians are providing extended on-site support to the applications and resolving incoming IT support tickets.

Both exercises utilize the NCI Agency's new Enterprise Service Operations Centre (ESOC), which provides NATO forces with support for technology ranging from computer networks to satellite and radio communications. The new ESOC allows Agency experts to support NATO's technology in a more collaborative manner, a feature that is being leveraged during the exercises.

"The ESOC is a central part of the quality of support provided within the NCI Agency. We help ensure that everything that can happen to impact or prevent missions will be resolved quickly," said Florent Huguet, Exercise Systems Coordinator at the ESOC.

In addition to measuring and reaffirming the deployment capabilities and readiness of NATO forces, these exercises also enhance the NCI Agency's internal collaboration. All of the various facets of the Agency involved in the exercises work together, maintaining open lines of communication to ensure that technology and services are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.