CAF Members Plan and Participate in Exercise Steadfast Jupiter 2023

December 15, 2023 - Defence Stories

Author: Lieutenant Colonel Mike Draho, Formation Europe member posted to HQ ARRC as a planning team leader within the G5 branch

Exercise Steadfast Jupiter 2023 was the largest scale NATO computer assisted command post exercise in recent years. Close to 7000 military and civilian personnel from NATO and partner nations were spread across 27 locations in Europe and North America. Including 24 training audiences representing all domains and components spanning the strategic Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), through the operational Joint Taskforce Headquarters, to the tactical divisions and corps exercised within a peer-on-peer, crisis-to-conflict, fictitious computer scenario across the European theatre and beyond.

Within this massive exercise, you would have found seven CAF members posted in Formation Europe working diligently in Headquarters Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (HQ ARRC) operating in a dispersed command, control, and communications environment across three locations in Romania. Focused on corps level warfighting with jobs ranging from planning, refinement, air and battle space management, joint fires, air operations, and combat service support plans and operations across 0-72, 72-120, and 120 hours and beyond time horizons.

HQ ARRC deployed to satisfy the field exercise component of NATO's Combat Readiness Evaluation (CREVAL) ahead of assuming the final high readiness NATO Response Force (NRF) Land Component Command Headquarters task on 1 January 2024 before NATO transitions to a new readiness model.

While no doubt many CAF members were involved in this exercise in some capacity, few would have had the opportunity to work at the corps level - simultaneously interacting with operational and component headquarters, coordinating and controlling Corps assets to shape the battle space for multiple Divisions, and synchronizing subordinates' tactical actions.

Additionally, a number of members from 1st Canadian Division - The Red Devils - deployed as individual augmentation to ARRC's G2 Intelligence branch or to Stavanger, Norway, either as exercise control staff or as a response cell replicating all functions of a subordinate division to a corps HQ.

Anticipating the final CREVAL report, preliminaries indicate that HQ ARRC performed well and is ready to assume its high readiness role on 1 January 2024. This small but mighty Canadian contingent should be proud of its performance, knowing that it ultimately contributed to both HQ ARRC readiness and NATO deterrence.

For further information on Exercise STEADFAST JUPITER:

• The Joint Warfare Centre Prepares for Largest NATO Command Post Exercise in Modern Warfare: STEADFAST JUPITER 2023
• Exercise STEADFAST JUPITER 2023 Concludes: A Tremendous Demonstration of Collaboration and Warfighting Readiness
• STEADFAST JUPITER 2023: A Milestone in NATO’s Preparedness and Defence Posture

For further information about Formation Europe:

• Canadian Forces in Europe