North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Allied Command Operations
June 19, 2013
EXERCISE ARRCADE DEPLOYEX 13 IS WELL UNDERWAY IN CORSICA
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Exercise ARRCADE DEPLOYEX 13, which will continue through 21 June, was directed by Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), the military ‘arm’ of NATO.
The exercise is designed to simulate a real NRF deployment…HQ ARRC is now on stand-by for short-notice call-up and subsequent rapid deployment in support of any potential NATO Response Force (NRF) missions that may develop during 2013.
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Close to 40 multinational troops assigned to Headquarters, Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (HQ ARRC) completed the first part of their rapid deployment exercise in Corsica last weekend.
Exercise ARRCADE DEPLOYEX 13 is far from over, however, as more than 100 troops from the Gloucestershire-based NATO headquarters will continue at Solenzara Airbase throughout the remainder of this week, returning home to the United Kingdom on 21 June.
Remaining in Corsica are troops assigned to the ARRC’s Enabling Command (EC) and Forward Main elements, who will continue the work begun by the command’s Operational Liaison and Reconnaissance Teams (OLRTs), most of whom deployed to Corsica on 10 June.
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The ARRC has 4 OLRTs; consisting of 6 personnel, including a team leader, two communications officers, and three specialists (engineers, logistics experts, etc.), each team has been augmented in Corsica with interpreters, either from the local area or from the French Foreign Legion.
Designed to deploy in advance of the rest of the headquarters, the OLRTs are given a set of Requests for Information, or RFIs, before they depart. Upon arriving in theatre, they must find answers to all of these questions, particularly those that involve the movement of troops, equipment, and supplies into the country.
Using state-of-the-art satellite communication kit, the OLRTs travel around the area, completing recces of sea and air ports, roads, etc. as well as meeting with administrative and political leaders, then make assessments that are forwarded directly back to the ARRC’s commander and his staff.
In Corsica, this has meant many long days driving around the mountainous Mediterranean island for OLRT personnel. “The terrain and roads have been challenging…(Corsica) has given us a good awareness of potential challenges we could find on a real, operational deployment,” explained Bjornerud.
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Exercise ARRCADE DEPLOYEX 13, which will continue through 21 June, was directed by Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), the military ‘arm’ of NATO.
The exercise is designed to simulate a real NRF deployment, at the beginning of which the ARRC would traditionally deploy its Operational Liaison and Reconnaissance Team (OLRT) and Enabling Command (EC) elements in advance of the rest of the headquarters in order to get everything ready and coordinate any/all logistics/transportation/etc. needs before the rest of the multinational headquarters deploys.
This exercise will mirror what the ARRC would do if the multinational headquarters were called-up by NATO to deploy in a real-world scenario.
HQ ARRC is a NATO Rapid Deployment Corps headquarters, founded in 1992 in Germany, and headquartered in Gloucestershire since August 2010.
Although HQ ARRC’s ‘framework nation’ is the United Kingdom, comprising approximately 60% of the overall staff, the ARRC is fully multinational in nature and organization, with 15 Partner Nations contributing the remaining complement of personnel (Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, France, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, and the United States).
HQ ARRC is now on stand-by for short-notice call-up and subsequent rapid deployment in support of any potential NATO Response Force (NRF) missions that may develop during 2013.
As an NRF Land Component Command, or LCC, the ARRC will essentially be in command of all land combat troops on the ground during an NRF deployment.
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