Lieutenant General Jürgen Knappe, JSEC Commander, and his staff informed him about current developments in the headquarters and the preparation status of the exercise. “We will demonstrate our full operational capability during our certification exercise,” said Knappe, “where we will act as one vital cog in the NATO machinery to deploy a large formation from continental America to and through Europe to enhance the Alliance’s deterrence and defence posture.”
Steadfast Defender 21 is aimed at proving the interaction and the interoperability between the three NATO Joint Force Headquarters and the JSEC, which is at the same level. JSEC will also test its coordinating role in the scenario. A part of the exercise will take place in Ulm, April/May 2021, and will be framed and conducted by NATO’s Joint Warfare Centre, located in Stavanger, Norway.
As the former Director General of the NATO International Military Staff, Broeks provides a vast amount of first-hand experience in the alliance’s environment. During the exercise, he will accompany JSEC through the certification process as a consultant. One of the primary challenges will be to align the staff’s workflow with an appropriate battle rhythm, ensuring that the commander’s decisions can be prepared in a timely manner.
Headquarters Supreme Allied Commander Transformation (HQ SACT) established the NATO Senior Mentor Program in 2006, involving former Flag or General Officers recommended to NATO by their respective Chiefs of Defense. The program focuses on NATO’s military Transformation and it fully supports the Alliance’s Education, Training, Exercises and Evaluation requirements.