North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Polish Armed Forces General Command
June 11, 2015
Poland Prepares to Support Exercise NOBLE JUMP
Zagan, Poland: National units comprising NATO’s Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF) are currently in the process of deploying to western Poland, where the ‘spearhead’ will conduct manoeuvres for the first time during Exercise NOBLE JUMP from 9-19 June. Critical to the success of any military training is the support provided by the host nation, and Polish authorities are working overtime to ensure NOBLE JUMP is a success.
During NATO exercises, the host nation is normally responsible for the reception of deployed troops at transportation hubs and their onward movement to training areas. Other areas of responsibility include the provision of logistics including fuel, water, food, medical support, and accommodation. These responsibilities are very similar to some of the roles that will be undertaken by NATO Force Integration Units (NFIUs), which are currently being established in the Baltic countries, Poland, Romania and Bulgaria. These command and control units are not yet operational, but an exercise element is role-playing their functions in Poland order to further develop procedures and refine the conceptual work that has been done to date. As in Exercise NOBLE JUMP, NFIUs will work in conjunction with host nations to identify logistical networks, transportation nodes and supporting infrastructure to ensure NATO high-readiness forces can deploy into an assigned region as quickly as possible. With the help of NFIUs, some units of the VJTF will be capable of moving in just two days, with most ready to move in less than seven days.
“The main task for Poland during the first phase of Exercise NOBLE JUMP is providing quality host nation support to the deploying troops as the arrive,” said Colonel Artur Kepczynski, Chief of the Polish Host Nation Coordination Centre. “Once these forces have arrived, they will be joined by Polish units and the operational activity in the Zagan training area will begin,” he said.
Poland has hosted numerous NATO and Allied exercises in the past, including Exercise STEADFAST JAZZ in 2013, which was one of the largest NATO exercises conducted in the last decade. This experience will be a major benefit to Polish military officials who face the current challenge of rapidly deploying NATO VJTF forces from eight Allied nations into Poland for this important training event.
“To provide this crucial host nation support, we are involving several Polish military units including 4th Regional Logistic Base, 1st and 10th Logistic Brigades, 11th Armored Cavalry Division and several others, including civilian companies,” said Colonel Kepczynski. “This is certainly a major challenge, but I am very confident in the abilities of the Polish Armed Forces to provide first-rate support,” he said.
Story by: Polish Armed Forces General Command
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