STAVANGER, Norway – The computer-assisted command post exercise (CAX/CPX) STEADFAST JACKAL 2022 (STJA22) concluded on December 1, 2022.
STJA22 was designed to train and evaluate NATO Rapid Deployable Corps – Italy (NRDC-ITA) and its Joint Logistics Support Group (JLSG) in planning and conducting a small joint operation at the operational and tactical levels, with a focus on the land, air, and cyberspace domains.
Directed by the JWC, the computer-assisted command post exercise (CAX/CPX) involved approximately 1,100 participants from 25 allied nations.
During the nine-day execution period, the Joint Warfare Centre (JWC) delivered nearly 900 injects to the training audience, spanning the full spectrum of crisis management and stability operations based on the fictitious non-Article 5 scenario created by the JWC’s scenario team.
One particular focus of the exercise was how the political, civilian and military instruments interacted with one another whilst engaged in NATO-led joint operations.
To exercise NATO’s comprehensive approach, nearly 70 key leader engagements took place over the course of STJA22.
The exercise also underlined the importance of the information environment.
Major General Piotr Malinowski, Commander JWC
Major General Piotr Malinowski, Commander JWC and the Exercise Director, said: “STEADFAST JACKAL 2022 is a huge success and a job well done to all. During the exercise, our training audience, NATO Rapid Deployable Corps – Italy, refined their warfighting skillsets in a simulated contingency environment where they established command and control to overcome complex operational dilemmas with a distinctly comprehensive approach.”
The Commander added: “Exercises like STEADFAST JACKAL 2022 are necessary to demonstrate NATO readiness and interoperability. Together, we make NATO better.”
Bevis added: “The Corps arrived here very well prepared and with extra resources from Italy. This has allowed them to gain the maximum value from all the opportunities made available to them by the Joint Warfare Centre."
“STEADFAST JACKAL 2022 is a huge success and a job well done to all. During the exercise, our training audience, NATO Rapid Deployable Corps – Italy, refined their warfighting skillsets in a simulated contingency environment where they established command and control to overcome complex operational dilemmas with a distinctly comprehensive approach.”
- Major General Piotr Malinowski, Commander JWC
Led by Lieutenant General Lorenzo D’Addario, NRDC-ITA is a high readiness headquarters which can be quickly dispatched to command-and-control NATO troops on missions within or beyond the territory of NATO member states, for the collective defence of Alliance territory or in pursuit of Alliance, EU, or coalition security interests.
On November 30, Lieutenant General D’Addario hosted a Distinguished Visitors’ Day at the JWC, welcoming NATO generals, flag officers, national representatives, academics, as well as the Italian Ambassador to Norway and Iceland.
Speaking first at the event, Major General Malinowski underlined the importance of the exercise for NATO, saying: “I have driven my team to implement even greater realism within the exercise scenario to include cross-cutting topics, stability policing and security force assistance.
The JWC Commander highlighted the inclusion of “an active international and non-governmental organization community” in the scenario. “Any successful non-Article 5 expeditionary operation must be able to function in this environment,” he stated.
Lieutenant General Lorenzo D’Addario, NRDC-ITA
In his welcoming speech, Lieutenant General D’Addario said that he was grateful to concentrate on and enhance NATO crisis management through STEADFAST JACKAL 2022.
The Lieutenant General said: “This has been a testing exercise for me in a first-class venue, with support from first-class people. We tested key topics on crisis response and crisis management, as well as the balance and interaction between kinetic and non-kinetic activities during a crisis. What we do here is at the heart of defence and deterrence. Our strong interoperability, not only amongst the soldiers, but also between the politicians, senior military leadership and our partners every day, is NATO’s true deterrence; this is the biggest weapon in our arsenal.”
During the exercise, eight observers from member nations of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the Mediterranean Dialogue had the opportunity to attend an observers’ programme organized by NRDC-ITA, where they were provided with briefings on the exercise.
“Our strong interoperability, not only amongst the soldiers, but also between the politicians, senior military leadership and our partners every day, is NATO’s true deterrence; this is the biggest weapon in our arsenal.”
- Lieutenant General Lorenzo D’Addario, Commander NRDC-ITA
STJA22 Exercise Control
Led by the JWC, the Exercise Control (EXCON) organization for STEADFAST JACKAL 2022 involved a variety of organizations across NATO, as well as from Allied nations, including:
- Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE),
- Allied Command Transformation (ACT),
- Allied Air Command (AIRCOM),
- Allied Land Command (LANDCOM),
- Joint Force Command Naples (JFC Naples),
- Joint Force Command Brunssum (JFC Brunssum),
- Eurocorps,
- Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO (STRIKFORNATO),
- German Joint Force Air Component (DEU JFAC),
- Multinational Joint Warfare Centre (MJWC),
- Italian Special Operations Component Command (SOCC),
- NATO Security Force Assistance Centre of Excellence (NATO SFA COE),
- US Navy Reserve, amongst others.
Additionally, trusted agents from NRDC-ITA and its Joint Logistics Support Group, and a diverse team of external contractors supported the EXCON.
Further Reading:
NATO Exercise STEADFAST JACKAL 2022 Gets Underway at the Joint Warfare Centre
Photos from STEADFAST JACKAL 2022 (by NRDC-ITA and JWC Public Affairs)
