The harbour phase of the maritime part of the Steadfast Jazz exercise is well underway in Gdynia, Poland. Dutch command ship HNLMS De Ruyter, Italian destroyer ITS Duilio, six ships of the Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group One (SNMCMG1) and the British minehunter HMS Ledbury are now preparing for the Maritime Live Exercise to begin on November 2, off coast of Poland.
On Monday, 28 October 2013 the Staff of the exercise comprised of Polish, Italian and Latvian officers and petty officers was introduced to the commanding officer of the flagship and started their work on board. The main task for the 23-person Staff now is to prepare the Pre-Sail conference and to produce the necessary documents and orders for the Maritime Livex. The commander of the task group, Capt Mariusz Koscielski (Polish Navy) expressed his gratitude for the crew of HNLMS De Ruyter for their warm welcome and ensured that his Staff will give all its best to conduct the exercise as efficiently as possible.
These types of operations are designed to maintain the control over the strategic waters in terms of shipping, which is the paramount factor in any possible crisis situation at sea. Achieving the NRF standards means also that the units will have to practice multinational procedures in all fields of warfare and demonstrate the highest level of interoperability. At the conclusion of the exercise, the headquarters staff from Joint Force Command Brunssum will be officially certified to lead NATO joint operations in 2014.
[mappress] Press Release, October 29, 2013; Image: NATO