STORY
Corps Strength
GRAND ALLIANCE
The training was supported by experts
from across NATO, with specialists
flying in from all corners of the Alliance
including the US Army’s 1st Cavalry
Division from Fort Hood, Texas, the
1st Canadian Division from Kingston,
Ontario, the Portuguese ‘Brigada
de Reacção Rápida’ (Rapid Reaction
Brigade), as well as the British Army’s
3rd (UK) Division from Salisbury Plain in
England.
As a
headquarters
we have to
earn trust.
Supporting staff also travelled from
the ARRC’s sister corps headquarters,
including the NATO Rapid Deployable
Corps Italy (NRDC-ITA) based in Milan,
and the Multinational Corps Northeast
from Szczecin, Poland.
Captain Andre Novais from the
‘Brigada de Reacção Rápida’ said:
“It’s been a useful experience. We are
a rapid reaction brigade, and as the
name suggests we can quickly deploy
forces in response of the ARRC.
“For us the challenge here is working
in an international environment that
is very close to reality, and we can
practice our procedures alongside
different nations.”
CHIEF OF MISSION
Reflecting on the progress made
by the ARRC during the exercise in
Cornwall, the Corps’s Chief of Staff,
Major General John Mead, said: “This
is an exercise where we sort out the
basics, and the basics for a corps are
still pretty sophisticated.
“What we’ve sought to do is
progressively build the team that can
work most effectively as a corps.
“I think the key word is ‘trust’.
Trust is the foundation of effective
military operations, but particularly
in an alliance. So, not only are we
integrating our headquarters of
20-plus nations, where English may
not be the first language, but then
we have to integrate as a corps and
10
SUMMER 2020 the imjin
be the sum of our parts, which has a
British, an American and a Canadian
division, a Portuguese brigade, and a
whole raft of international corps troops
providers – such as a Czech CBRN
(Chemical, Biological, Radiological and
Nuclear) battalion, you name it.
“It’s a complex mix, but that said
NATO has been here before. We try
to maintain routine relationships but
you’ve also got to come together to
build that trust. And as a headquarters
we have to earn that trust.
“We’re clear that we’ve still got to
improve to be really competitive.
And we’re clearer on the risks to
readiness and what we need to focus
on in training. And, frankly, where we
need to modernise and where those
capability short fallings are going
forward.
“But I think the thing that’s most
pleased me has been the way that
an empowered team that has just
got a bit better every day.”
LAND FORCE
During a two-day visit towards the
end of the exercise, the Commander
of Allied Land Command, Lieutenant
General JT Thomson, added: “This
is a tremendous example of building
readiness and practicing collective
defence as an alliance.
“I’ve been very impressed with the
teamwork from across NATO, and
I’m impressed with the Allied Rapid
Reaction Corps.
“You’re setting the standard all across
NATO.”
To watch the ‘Corps Warfighting’
video visit the Allied Rapid
Reaction Corps’s
YouTube channel