NATO's Spearhead Force: 'Stolzer Wettiner' exercise begins

In 2023, 37 Armoured Infantry Brigade "Freistaat Sachsen" is the lead unit of NATO's rapid response force, known as the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTFVery High Readiness Joint Task Force ). From 9 to 16 March, the brigade command will conduct training at the Army Warfighting Simulation Centre in Wildflecken in how to lead units from different nations operating as a combined force. 

The strategic goal of the exercise is to strengthen the cooperation of the brigade headquarters with the staffs of subordinate units. With this exercise, which is only one of a series of multinational exercises, 37 Armoured Infantry Brigade will prepare for contributing initial forces for potential conflicts in an unknown territory.

Objective: lead unit for multinational land forces

In 2023, Germany will take over the command of the multinational land components of the VJTFVery High Readiness Joint Task Force - the so-called spearhead of NATO - by providing the 37 Armoured Infantry Brigade as the lead unit and thus make a contribution to the defense alliance's responsiveness. Until then, the major mechanized unit will conduct several exercises to prepare for the task of leading up to 12,000 soldiers during that year. A large percentage of these troops are already part of the basic structure of 37 Armoured Infantry Brigade. The remaining number of soldiers to be deployed will be provided by other major military organisational elements of the Bundeswehr and by troop-contributing NATO countries.

Merging forces

Multinational capabilities have to be developed and harmonised. From workshops and computer-assisted exercises up to live exercises - each step builds on the previous one. The autumn of 2020 saw the kick-off of the exercise series. Since then, 37 Armoured Infantry Brigade has been preparing intensively for the VJTFVery High Readiness Joint Task Force mission under the umbrella of the NATO Response Force (NRFNATO Response Force). Now, in March 2022, the 'Stolzer Wettiner' command post exercise at the Army Warfighting Simulation Centre marks the beginning of a series of six exercises that have been scheduled for this year so far. Cooperating troop contributors and their command and control facilities will be connected to the brigade command post of 37 Armoured Infantry Brigade. This way, the participants can practice how to interact in the information and communication network within the VJTFVery High Readiness Joint Task Force .

From the digital scenario to the real world

"As the lead unit for the VJTFVery High Readiness Joint Task Force land component, we take on a coordinating role," says Colonel Alexander Krone, the brigade commander. He adds that it was crucial to merge all the elements in training, exercises, control and certification in such a way that individual capabilities come together as a whole. The 'Stolzer Wettiner' exercise is a computer-assisted simulation. Its key issues are strategic and tactical understanding and issuing orders in a multinational environment – the first element to be put to the test is strategy. Battalion commanders will receive fictitious orders from the brigade headquarters and execute them in the simulation.

As a next step, the German battle group will conduct a live exercise, the 'Wettiner Schwert' exercise, at the Letzlinger Heide training area in April.

by René Hinz