STRIKFORNATO begins exercise Trident Juncture 2018

On board USS Mount Whitney, North Sea – STRIKFORNATO begins their participation in the live portion of exercise Trident Juncture 2018. Operating with a staff of more than 200 personnel on board USS Mount Whitney, STRIKFORNATO will be one of two maritime commanders in the NATO-flagged exercise, one of the largest in recent years.

Trident Juncture 2018 will feature the participation of 65 ships, 250 aircraft, 10,000 vehicles, and 50,000 personnel from 31 NATO and partner nations. The exercise aims to train the forces to be able to operate together, and to demonstrate NATO’s collective defence capability.

During the exercise, the participants will be split into "North” and "South” forces. STRIKFORNATO will be the maritime component commander for the North Force and will be responsible for more than 20 ships, with around 3800 personnel afloat and 5500 Marines ashore. During the exercise, ships, aircraft, and Marines will be challenged to respond to a variety of threats and unfamiliar scenarios.

"Trident Juncture offers us a unique opportunity to test our ships, aircraft, and Marines in all aspects of Naval and Amphibious Warfare. This includes live fire training, anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare, air defence, mine warfare, and amphibious operations. Operating in the Atlantic and Norway, in this time of the year, offers us the possibility to train realistically in all these warfare areas in harsh conditions. It will be challenging, but this training will allow us to hone our skills and ensure our forces are able to operate anytime, anywhere, against any potential threat”, said Colonel Garth Manger UK Royal Marines, responsible for STRIKFORNATO operations branch.

Trident Juncture starts today, 25 October, and will run until 7 November in Norway, the Baltic Sea and the airspaces of Finland and Sweden.