Nordic and Allied forces will demonstrate a unique level of cooperation and interoperability as they cross national borders on land, sea and air during Exercise Nordic Response 24 this weekend, March 9-10, 2024.
Carefully planned and executed above the Arctic Circle, Nordic Response is designed to strengthen collaboration among Nordic countries and their Allies, showcasing to the world the high degree of partnership that exists between and among participating forces from 13 nations. Through seamless integration across land, sea and air, this large-scale exercise demonstrates the collective ability to address challenging situations toward ensuring the security of the region.
"Our greatest strategic advantage in the Arctic region is a network of Allies and partners committed to Arctic security, and more importantly, peace and prosperity,” said U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Robert Sofge, commander of U.S. Marine Corps Forces Europe and Africa. “Nordic Response stresses that now is the time to get our systems connected, our doctrine aligned, and to share our tactics to ensure we can sense and make sense in a complex battlefield, in the harshest of conditions, against a capable opponent."
U.S. Marine Corps Forces Europe and Africa is U.S. European Command’s lead component in planning and executing Nordic Response, a NATO Steadfast Defender 2024 and USEUCOM-coordinated Large Scale Global Exercise-tethered Arctic exercise.
Beyond the kinetic military operations, this High North exercise fosters civil-military collaboration that has been established among the Nordic countries. Services such as customs, food safety authorities and other relevant civilian agencies will actively participate to facilitate all exercise participants. This comprehensive approach contributes to strengthening the Nordic region’s preparedness system, enhancing the ability to effectively handle complex situations and crisis should the need ever arise.
Also this weekend, Finnish, French, Italian, Spanish and Swedish forces onboard American and Italian naval vessels – notably, the USS Gunston Hall along with Italian Ships San Giorgio and Giuseppe Garibaldi – will conduct simultaneous amphibious beach assaults and landings on the shores of Norway.
Against the backdrop of the Norwegian fjords, these forces will demonstrate the effectiveness of conducting another in a long list of complex military maneuvers that Nordic Response is designed to hone; this instance being high-end, amphibious operations in an Arctic environment.
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