ARRC NEWS
The ARRC on Exercise DYNAMIC FRONT
Maj Richard Little, Canada
As the rain and cold settled into Gloucestershire last November, thoughts turned to sunnier and warmer destinations. Tenerife perhaps. The Azores would be nice. However, the ARRC had another exotic destination in mind … Finland. Above the Arctic Circle. In the snow.
I was off to join almost 5000 other NATO soldiers as we were all participating in Exercise DYNAMIC FRONT 25( Ex DF25) in the Rovajärvi Training Area, Finland. Joining me on this snowy trip were 20 other people from the ARRC from across all branches and 7 nationalities, 30 reservists based around 100 Regiment Royal Artillery, 18 support staff from the Gurkha ARRC Support Battalion, and perhaps most importantly, 30 signallers from 22 Signals Regiment.
The Rovajärvi training area in which we deployed was beautiful. It is located in the heart of Finnish Lapland, just a reindeer’ s hair north of the Arctic Circle and about 100 km west of the Russian border. While it was idyllic as a potential winter holiday destination, we were there to do a job. Nevertheless, we could enjoy the woods, lakes, hills, snow, reindeer, and Santa Claus’ village, which was a short distance away. The time of year provided its own magic and challenges. Daylight hours were short, with the sun typically rising around 9:30 am and setting around 2:40 pm. This provided ample opportunity to view the majestic Aurora Borealis( Northern Lights) which shone brightly almost every night. The weather ran the gamut from-20 ° C through to + 9 ° C, creating some challenges for the melting and freezing cycles, ensuring that sure footed NATO soldiers could slip and slide across the road on the way to meals while bundled up with as much warm clothing as possible.
We lived in a bivouac area, in winterised sleeping containers, but worked in wooden cabins in the forest. Our meals were prepared by local Finnish staff and we ate a modest variety of“ one pot” meals in our local dining facility. And it was not like us to go to Finland and not enjoy the sauna. We got to do that too.
Back at work, Ex DF25 is a three week long artillery exercise focussed on increasing the ability of all NATO nations to work together to provide fires in the European theatre. This year was the latest in a series of these US-led exercises. This edition was extra special as the Finnish Army commanded the troops in the field in their first exercise as a member of NATO.
The ARRC provided a unique training opportunity for two training audiences. We provided a corps level NATO HQ for the Finnish Army to learn how to work with NATO. Simultaneously. we provided the training programme for Headquarters 1st Multinational Field Artillery Brigade( 1 MN FAB), which is staffed by UK regular and reserve gunners from across the Royal Regiment, as well as international augmentees from Germany, Italy, Denmark, France and Sweden( in its first exercise as a member of NATO). This brigade headquarters commanded several units from across NATO including 19 Regiment Royal Artillery from the UK( with support from 26 Regiment Royal Artillery), 93e Régiment d’ Artillerie de Montagne from France and 4 Brigade Artillery Battalion from Sweden.
Deployed next to the ARRC was the Finnish 4th Army Corps with their own artillery including their K9 howitzers and augmented by support from the 41st Field Artillery Brigade from the USA.
19 Regiment was equipped with the brand new Archer howitzers, testing and training in Arctic conditions. The Swedes, likewise, deployed with their Archer howitzers, while the French deployed with their Caesar howitzers. The ARRC and 1st MN FAB provided all the command and control for them to engage their targets with precision.
We participated in a complex simulation exercise followed by a four-day live fire exercise. The weather cooperated and all our training objectives were met and several exceeded. Additional lessons were learned in working in Arctic conditions, on digital networks, in challenging technical configurations and with a broad range of cultural influences.
The lessons and experiences gained will set the ARRC and 1st MN FAB up for success in future exercises. The next DYNAMIC FRONT is taking place in January 2027. At least next time, it will not be somewhere cold. Turkiye would be nice in the heart of winter.
4 SUMMER 2025 the imjin