Steadfast Jazz 2013 maritime drills well underway
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The harbour phase of the maritime part of the Steadfast Jazz exercise is well underway in Gdynia, Poland. Dutch command ship HNLMS De Ruyter, Italian destroyer ITS Duilio, six ships of the Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group One (SNMCMG1) and the British minehunter HMS Ledbury are now preparing for the Maritime Live Exercise to begin on November 2, off coast of Poland, the NATO official website reports.
On Monday, 28 October 2013 the Staff of the exercise comprised of Polish, Italian and Latvian officers and petty officers was introduced to the commanding officer of the flagship and started their work on board. The main task for the 23-person Staff now is to prepare the Pre-Sail conference and to produce the necessary documents and orders for the Maritime Livex. The commander of the task group, Capt Mariusz Koscielski (Polish Navy) expressed his gratitude for the crew of HNLMS De Ruyter for their warm welcome and ensured that his Staff will give all its best to conduct the exercise as efficiently as possible.
The operations at sea will be conducted by twelve ships representing eight NATO countries. Along with the Dutch command and control ship HNLMS De Ruyter, the component will include an Italian destroyer ITS Duilio, Polish frigate ORP Kosciuszko and submarine ORP Sokol. Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group One (SNMCMG1) will be responsible for the mine warfare. The SNMCMG1 currently consists of six ships: the flagship ORP Czernicki and five minehunters: BNS Narcis (Belgium), ENS Admiral Cowan (Estonia), FGS Dillingen (Germany), HNLMS Makkum (Netherlands) and HNOMS Rauma (Norway). For the duration of this exercise the team will be joined by the Polish minehunter ORP Czajka and the British HMS Ledbury. The manoeuvres will also involve the naval aviation with Polish Navy helicopters Mi-14PL and SH-2G and Portuguese patrol aircraft P-3C Orion.
The maritime component of the exercises will operate in the Baltic Sea, including the Gulf of Gdansk. The main task of the destroyers, frigates and naval aviation will be to ensure the safety of navigation and securing the strategic lines of communication especially the port approaches. These forces will protect its own sea transport against any submarine or air attacks. The Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 1 will be appointed to check for the presence of sea mines and other dangerous objects that could undermine the proper functioning of maritime transport. The crews of all the ships will be practicing the multinational procedures like manoeuvring, communications and search and rescue operations at sea.
These types of operations are designed to maintain the control over the strategic waters in terms of shipping, which is the paramount factor in any possible crisis situation at sea. Achieving the NRF standards means also that the units will have to practice multinational procedures in all fields of warfare and demonstrate the highest level of interoperability. At the conclusion of the exercise, the headquarters staff from Joint Force Command Brunssum will be officially certified to lead NATO joint operations in 2014.