The Land First Entry Brigade is deploying 1,500 soldiers for exercises Brilliant Jump and Cold Response. Its staff is armed in this operational cycle by the French-German Brigade (FGB) stationed in Müllheim (Germany); a unique unit with 33 years of operational experience in all theatres and experts in allied interoperability. Its bi-national nature predisposes it to be engaged in a multinational environment, that of NATO or the EU, without however preventing its engagement in a national framework. The FGB's capabilities give it complete autonomy to be the first to enter a theatre of operations, but it can also be committed under the orders of a division or an army corps, including in the framework of Collective Defence.
In 2007, and again in 2010, the French-German Brigade participated in the NATO Response Force (NRF) by arming the core of the ground forces. Its assumption of alert within NRF22 is the result of a demanding preparation and certification conducted from the end of 2020, subordinated in this framework to the Rapid Reaction Corps France based in Lille. This preparation allowed in particular to integrate into the First Entry Brigade its components coming from several allied nations. In addition to the French units on alert, the presence of Spanish, Polish and Portuguese battalions demonstrates both the operational strength of this brigade and the solidarity between nations within the Alliance.
The units that make up the NRF Alert Brigade are equipped with the most modern tanks, weapons and equipment of the contributing armies. In particular, France will commit GRIFFON infantry tanks and renovated AMX10 RC light tanks, both of which are equipped with a new, high-performance digital information system. The Spanish battalion will engage LEOPARD 2 battle tanks. For all these units, a special training effort has been made to harden the soldiers to extreme winter conditions, and the equipment that required it has benefitted from adequate technical measures. The FGB is supported by its own logistics battalion and signal company, both of them Franco-German.
During exercises Brilliant Jump and Cold Response, the FGB Command Post (CP) will command the Light Armoured Battalion armed by the 3rd Hussars Regiment (Metz) and the 1st Infantry Regiment (Sarrebourg), both native regiments of the FGB. The 13th Alpine Infantry Battalion (Barby) will join the Brigade for the Cold Response phase. The Portuguese Mechanised Infantry Battalion will deploy a response cell at the Brigade HQ. The 1st "Legio" Battalion of the 12th Polish Motorized Brigade will provide the infantry component, and the Spanish "Leon" Battalion of the 12th Guadarrama Brigade will be deployed on battle tanks.
The insignia of the NRF Brigade bears the NATO cross and the outline of the badge of the Franco-German Brigade (normally in the colours of the French and German flags). The name VEXILLATIO was used in the Roman Empire to designate an expeditionary corps specifically set up for a campaign and formed of detachments of several legions as well as auxiliary formations provided by Rome's allies. Its etymology comes from vexillum, the pennant that bore the emblem and number of the parent legion.