NATO

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JWC personnel in the last four weeks actively participated in a preparation exercise for the NATO Response Force (NRF) as the different NATO Headquarters earmarked for NRF 2014 conducted a Crisis Response Planning Exercise.

Included among the Headquarters that participated in this event and received JWC support was the Italian Maritime Force (ITMARFOR), which is located in Taranto, in the south of Italy. Designated as the Maritime Component Commander, ITMARFOR ran the exercise from aboard the Italian flag ship aircraft carrier ITS Cavour.

The intent of the exercise was twofold: to provide training in all the elements of a NATO operational planning process; and to produce a fully developed and executable operational plan.

The Crisis Response Planning comprised two sub-phases. The first sub-phase, or strategic level planning phase, addressed possible military response options and a strategic planning directive, which was performed by Allied Command Operations. During the second sub-phase, which was devoted to Operational and Tactical level Crisis Response planning, the Operational Headquarters, in this case Joint Force Command Brunssum, together with all the tactical level elements conducted a collaborative NATO Operations Planning Process. The exercise successfully ended on 24 May.