The Allied Joint Force Command Naples personnel, which is in charge with the NATO Response Force this year, will conduct TRIDENT JOUST 15 military exercise in Cincu shooting range, Brasov County, over 17 and 28 June.
During this exercise, structures of an Allied Joint Force Command will be deployed in Romania for the first time; also a first will be the simulation of the command and control transfer of the NATO Response Force to a temporary location, in Romania.
The Joint Logistic Support Group (JLSG), based in Naples, transfers its command in Bulgaria to exercise support for exercise TRIDENT JOUST 15.
The Joint Logistic Support Group moves to Bulgaria for the first time and trains on a large scale, in a complex operational environment to check the capacity of JLSG command to deploy and operate as a logistic support command at theater of operations level.
'The exercise is designed to test the abilities of Joint Force Command Naples to lead a collective defence operation for the Alliance,' said Admiral Mark Ferguson, Commander of JFC Naples, when he announced the exercise last month with the Romanian Minister of Defence.
'This deployment will test the full operational capability of my staff by shifting command and control between my headquarters in Naples and the forward deployed elements in Cincu.'
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TRIDENT JOUST is part of a larger series of exercises called ALLIED SHIELD. These NATO exercises are defensive and are included in the set of NATO assurance measures. The operations will focus on increasing interoperability, the operational capacity and the response of the allied and partner states.
The ALLIED SHIELD series includes the NOBLE JUMP exercise, the first deployment for training purposes of the high-readiness units within NATO Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF). This series also includes the allied Navy exercise, BALTOPS, to be conducted in the Baltic Sea, and a Land Forces exercise, SABER STRIKE, to be conducted in the Baltic States. About 14,000 personnel will participate in this series of exercises that will take place on allied territory, in June.

'These exercises…demonstrate that NATO is transforming and adapting to meet the new security challenges facing the Alliance as identified at the Wales Summit,' said Admiral Ferguson. 'Allied Shield demonstrates the resolve of the Alliance, its more responsive capabilities, and the commitment of each member nation to collective defence.'
Romania and Bulgaria will offer support and additional resources during the exercise as host-nations. The Romanian military combined the national exercise with live shooting, VIFORUL 15, with TRIDENT JOUST exercise, in order to train all participants better.
Over 1,000 troops from 25 NATO countries will participate in TRIDENT JOUST 15 exercise, along the 200 Romanian troops involved in the live shooting exercise, contributing to the implementation of the NATO Readiness Action Plan (RAP) announced at Wales Summit, while offering the assurance of collective defence to all allies.
The mission of JFC Naples is to prepare for, plan and conduct military operations in order to preserve the peace, security and territorial integrity of Alliance member states. On an annual basis, JFC Naples alternates operational command of the NRF with JFC Brunssum.

MoND Press Office