Exercise Joint Warrior 2008
The UK military will be running two publicised multi-force exercises around Scotland under the title of Exercise Joint Warrior 2008.
NW 081 will run from April 19, 2008 to May 2, 2008, and NW 082 will follow later in the year, running between October 4, 2008 and October 17, 2008. These are the latest in the series of major regular multi-force exercises previously known as Neptune Warrior.
Neptune Warrior provided joint collective training in a multi-threat environment for UK, NATO and Allied units and their staffs, enabling them to operate together in tactical formations as preparation for employment in a component of a Joint Combined Task Force
The Neptune Warrior name was a re-branding of the earlier Joint Maritime Courses (JMC) which ran up to the summer of 2005. In 2006, when there were 3 exercises per year, the third (NW 063) took place from October 21, 2006, to November 4, 2006. From 2007, these reduced to 2 per year, with the Neptune Warrior exercises (NW 071 and NW 072) taking place between April 21, 2007, and May 5, 2007, then September 17, 2007, to September 29, 2007.
Current information from:-
http://www.rnopsscotland.com/
Defence
News Article
Army and Navy colleagues in Exercise Joint Warrior
A Training and Adventure news article
29 Apr 08
3rd Battalion The Rifles have been helping out Royal Navy colleagues from HMS Bulwark and HMS Portland in an international exercise off the coast of Scotland.
HMS Bulwark
HMS Bulwark sails through a snow shower as she patrols the North West of Norway during Exercise Armatura Borealis/Tundra (March 2008)
[Picture: PO (Phot) Angie Pearce]
Exercise Joint Warrior is a large international NATO marine exercise being carried out over two weeks which is designed to develop the ability of aircraft, warships and submarines to operate as part of a multi-national task group in a complex and demanding operational environment.
Alongside HMS Bulwark and HMS Portland are more than 30 aircraft, warships and submarines from NATO countries, including the UK, Germany, France, Turkey, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Poland and the USA.
There is usually a notional 'Land' scenario as part of the exercise, but this is the first time in years that real soldiers will land and take part ashore.
3 Rifles, recognising the opportunities the exercise offered, volunteered to take part and embarked on HMS Bulwark (a troop carrying ship).
HMS Bulwark is an Albion Class, High Readiness Amphibious Assault Ship, ready for worldwide tasking. She has the capacity for up to six Challenger Tanks and over 400 troops. She also operates a number of smaller landing craft that are being used on the exercise to disembark the 3 Rifles troops.
She is also operating as the command and support ship for a force of smaller mine warfare ships during the exercise.
HMS Portland
HMS Portland returning home after a six month deployment in December 2007
[Picture: LA (Phot) Ray Jones]
HMS Bulwark's Commanding Officer, Captain Jeremy Blunden, said:
"Exercise Joint Warrior will allow my sailors and Royal Marines to test their operational skills against some of the top navies in NATO. We are greatly looking forward to this demanding and rewarding opportunity to further develop the ship's operational capability as the Royal Navy's Amphibious Flagship."
3 Rifles are conducting exercises based around a NEO (Non-Combatant Evacuation Operation) scenario which sees the safe extraction of a vulnerable population from a potentially dangerous environment.
This is an operation that 3 Rifles are all too familiar with, having conducted one for real whilst they were at high readiness as the Army's 'Spearhead' in 2006, when the British Community in Lebanon were safely evacuated by ship to Cyprus and home to the UK. Coincidentally HMS Bulwark also took part in that operation.
The 'landward' training commenced early on Monday 28 April 2008 with a beach landing and 20 km insertion march along the roads and fields (with the local landowners' permission of course), followed by the NEO operation to evacuate a role-playing civilian population from a mock hostile presence.
The Commanding Officer of Royal Navy Frigate HMS Portland, also taking part in Exercise Joint Warrior, Commander Mike Utley, said:
"This exercise will provide a challenging scenario that will allow us to build as a team while consolidating our warfare skills in a variety of disciplines. This type of training is invaluable in enabling us to remain at our peak in terms of operational capability."
I think these are the articles of intrest. NEO is an extremely intresting and very telling scenario to rehearse...Hmmm!
Peace & Blessings
OB
