STAVANGER, Norway – The computer-assisted / command post exercise (CAX/CPX) STEADFAST JACKAL 2023 (STJA23) concluded on December 7, 2023 in Norway and Spain.
The 10-day exercise was designed to train and evaluate Eurocorps as a NATO Joint Task Force (JTF) Headquarters for 2024, while testing its responsiveness and out-of-area expeditionary capabilities during crisis response.
Sponsored by Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) and directed by the Joint Warfare Centre (JWC), STJA23 involved over 800 participants from 18 NATO member nations.
In addition to Eurocorps, the training audience of STJA23 also included the Spanish Logistics Brigade, serving as the Eurocorps’ Joint Logistics Support Group (JLSG), the Spanish Joint Force Air Component (JFAC) and the French-German Brigade.
Major General Piotr Malinowski, Commander JWC and Exercise Director, said: “STEADFAST JACKAL 2023 has been a very successful exercise to prepare Eurocorps and its associated headquarters’ operational- and tactical-level staff in the conduct of crisis response and humanitarian assistance planning. Through a range of challenging scenarios aligned with NATO’s 360-degree approach to security, the training audience rehearsed enhanced command and control, civil-military cooperation, comprehensive approach, and operational-level logistics, which are integral to their upcoming Joint Headquarters role.”
Six international/non-governmental organizations and two Partner nations (from Jordan and Georgia) participated in the exercise. Additionally, military representatives from Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Morocco, Tunisia, and Iraq visited the JWC for one-day to observe the exercise.
Lieutenant Colonel James, the JWC’s lead planner for STJA23, said: “The Joint Warfare Center is very proud of the efforts made by all contributors over the past 18 months in the planning of this exercise. Through this dedication, the JWC can confidently say that STEADFAST JACKAL 2023 has succeeded in preparing Eurocorps, Spanish Joint Logistics Support Group and the Spanish Joint Force Air Component to perform their roles for NATO.“
Eurocorps will begin its 12-month stand-by period as NATO Joint Headquarters in January 2024, and in 2025, it will take over the role of Deployable Force Headquarters for the EU Battlegroups.
“This is what makes us unique,” said Lieutenant General Jarosław Gromadziński, Commander Eurocorps. “Being able to serve both NATO and the EU.”
STJA23 is the final iteration of NATO’s JWC-directed STEADFAST JACKAL series of exercises, which has begun in 2019 with NATO Rapid Deployable Corps–Spain serving as the first training audience.
STJA23 DV Day
Lieutenant General Jarosław Gromadziński welcomed NATO senior leaders and honoured guests during STJA23 Distinguished Visitors (DV) Day on December 5. Lieutenant General Gromadziński spoke to the distinguished visitors, underlining that the exercise demonstrated NATO’s resolve in a changing and unpredictable security environment. The Eurocorps Commander thanked everybody who contributed to its realization and praised the work done during both the 18-month planning phase and execution.
The DV Day included an exercise overview briefing, a demonstration of the JWC’s simulation media products, and tour of the JWC’s state-of-the-art training facilities. Lieutenant General Jérôme Goisque, the Military Representative of France to EU and NATO, and Lieutenant General Lorenzo D’Addario, Commander of NATO Rapid Deployable Corps Italy, were amongst the senior leaders who attended the STJA23 DV Day.
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