The Joint Warfare Centre’s Dual Mission in Training and Warfare Development
NATO’s Joint Warfare Centre (JWC) was established on October 23, 2003, in Stavanger, Norway, subordinate to Headquarters Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, in Norfolk, Virginia, the United States. The Centre attained full operational capability in 2006.
The JWC’s workforce comprises NATO International Civilians as well as military posts from the following 18 NATO member nations: Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Türkiye, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
The JWC is NATO’s training focal point for full-spectrum joint operational- and strategic-level warfare. As part of the NATO Command Structure, the JWC directly supports the missions of Supreme Allied Commander Transformation (SACT) and Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR). The Centre contributes to the overall warfighting readiness of NATO Command and Force Structure Headquarters and, when directed, National and/or NATO Headquarters deploying on operations.
JWC’s Key Outputs:
- Collective Training and Exercises: Delivering NATO’s largest and most complex computer-assisted command post exercises at the operational and strategic levels, the JWC supports both collective defence (Article 5) and crisis response operations (non-Article 5), ensuring a high standard of preparedness.
- The JWC delivers three of the four core NATO multi-domain exercises: STEADFAST DETERRENCE, STEADFAST DUEL, STEADFAST DAGGER.
- Warfare Development: Serving as a hub for warfare development, the JWC ensures adherence to joint operational doctrine and standards, fosters experimentation, and supports the implementation of NATO’s lessons learned process.
- The JWC increases capability and capacity of NATO commands and forces, which lead to increased readiness.
- The JWC delivers tangible deterrence for NATO.
JWC’s Mission:
- The JWC plans, prepares, and executes static and distributed joint strategic- and operational-level exercises and training in support of warfare development and warfighting readiness.
- Furthermore, it supports concept development and the maintenance of joint doctrine and standards, and coordinates the integration of experimentation and capability development in order to maximize transformational efforts to improve NATO’s interoperability, capabilities, effectiveness and operational readiness.
- The JWC contributes to developing and strengthening relationships and integration of national training and command organizations, governmental and non-governmental organizations, as well as regional security organizations and partners, in accordance with established policy and principles.
Our Mission Values
- Adaptability: With a firm footing in doctrine but also a vigilant eye on the future, we maintain a dynamic balance between current expertise and responsiveness. Our adaptability is a key strength as we strive to support NATO’s continuous preparation for evolving threats. We analyse, respond and always move forward.
- Collaboration: We commit to deepening our partnerships with military, academic and civilian entities across the Alliance. These synergies enrich our own professional development, strengthening our high-quality training and contribution to NATO’s warfare development. Our collaborative “One Team” spirit promotes interdisciplinary cooperation and open communication, ensuring a powerful, unified approach to warfare and readiness.
- Excellence: Our dedication to excellence manifests in rigorous standards, continuous improvement and an uncompromising commitment to delivering quality with impact. We engage with a single aim: training NATO forces to excel in their readiness and preparedness.
To support the Alliance in being prepared for the threats of tomorrow, we will propel NATO’s crisis response and warfighting concepts into readiness by delivering challenging, technologically integrated and multi-domain operational and strategic exercises and training events.
We will always integrate innovation and experimentation in order to find new ways and be bold in executing our mission.
In this way, we ensure the Alliance maintains superior decision-making capabilities and further develops its warfighting advantage.
Our training environment includes core exercise functions, organic to the Joint Warfare Centre, to ensure the best possible outcomes for any training experience:
- Our Scenario and Scripting teams create and maintain complex and realistic scenarios including storylines, incidents and operational dilemmas with a 360-degree approach to current and emerging threats.
- Our Exercise Control and Advisory teams ensure that the exercise stays on course, committed to helping the training audience meet each challenge of the exercise.
- Our Higher Control and Grey Cell replicate all non-military partners, organizations, as well as political and strategic processes.
- Our Computer Simulation team provides the birds-eye detail of all the boots on the ground, in the air and at sea.
- Our Opposing Forces create the adversarial picture designed to challenge the Training Audience.
- Our Media team provides the backbone for a complex and ever changing information battle space, covering all aspects of the conflict.
- Lastly, our CIS brings it all together, providing seamless communication between all parties involved.
NATO Joint Warfare Centre:
- Plans, prepares, and executes operational and strategic level collective training events and exercises,
- Incorporates warfare development activities into collective training and exercises, including wargame design as well as the test, validation and integration of new concepts and doctrine development; applies the lessons learned process,
- Develops and sustains settings, baseline scenarios, and exercise-specific scenarios required to support joint operational and strategic level exercises,
- Contributes to developing and strengthening relationships and integration of national training and command organizations, governmental and non-governmental organizations as well as regional security organizations and partners, in accordance with established policy and principles.
