STAVANGER, Norway – Admiral Sir Keith Edward Blount KCB OBE, NATO’s Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe (DSACEUR), visited the Joint Warfare Centre (JWC) on October 24, 2024.

Admiral Blount’s visit to the JWC coincided with the execution phase of NATO Exercise STEADFAST DUEL 2024, which gave him the first-hand opportunity to observe the ongoing exercise and engage with the Exercise Control (EXCON) staff.

Admiral Blount was warmly welcomed to the JWC by Major General Ruprecht von Butler, Commander JWC, and Brigadier General Raymond L. Adams, the JWC’s Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff.

Lieutenant General Hubert Cottereau, the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) Vice Chief of Staff, who serves as the SHAPE Response Cell Chief during the exercise, also welcomed DSACEUR together with the JWC’s leadership.

Following an office call with Major General von Butler and Brigadier General Adams, Admiral Blount visited the exercise Situation Centre (SITCEN), which is the “nerve centre” of STEADFAST DUEL 2024. During this stop, he met with key exercise personnel and received a wide array of briefings from various EXCON teams.

The morning concluded with a briefing on JWC’s wargaming design capability, as well as a briefing in the Maritime Response Cell.

The afternoon portion of the visit included a roundtable discussion about the JWC 2030 Transformation Programme, which aims to deliver sustainable change to meet the Alliance’s level of ambition, as well as STEADFAST DUEL 2024 experimentation activities conducted under the lead of Headquarters Supreme Allied Commander Transformation.

Admiral Blount concluded his visit by addressing the STEADFAST DUEL 2024 EXCON team. He thanked all EXCON staff and noted that what they accomplished jointly was extremely complex and of great importance for NATO’s readiness and warfare advantage.