Oeiras, Portugal – STRIKFORNATO will participate in the U.S. Fleet Synthetic Training-Joint 2013/2 (FST-J 13-2) Exercise as the Combined Force Maritime Component Headquarters on board USS Mount Whitney (LCC 20) later this month.
FST-J 13-2 is a key event in STRIKFORNATO’s training program this year, sharpening its skills to plan and execute the command and control of multiple carrier strike groups in the delivery of joint effects into multiple domains – including land, maritime, air, cyberspace, and space – from the sea. In order to maximize the training benefit, STRIKFORNATO will deploy from Lisbon onto the USS Mount Whitney, STRIKFORNATO’s designated command and control platform. The move will exercise the headquarters in maintaining the skills required for a quick, seamless transition to a deployed Headquarters afloat.
FST-J 13-2 is a certification exercise for the HARRY S TRUMAN Carrier Strike Group aimed at determining their ability to integrate into joint operations. “By participating into this U.S. Navy exercise, STRIKFORNATO will refresh its ability to integrate US maritime forces into Alliance operations, the key role of STRIKFORNATO,” said Rear Admiral Lowe, STRIKFORNATO’s Deputy Commander.
STRIKFORNATO is NATO’s immediate response, deployable Maritime Battle-staff and the Alliance’s primary link for integrating US Maritime Forces into NATO operations. Managed by a Memorandum of Understanding comprising 11 Nations, STRIKFORNATO is a rapidly deployable, Maritime Headquarters that provides scalable command and control across the full spectrum of Alliance fundamental security tasks.
