Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe,  General Sir James Everard,  visited Allied Joint Force Command Naples on Jan. 23 to 24,  2018.  (Photo by French Navy Petty Officer Sébastien Laurent)

NAPLES, Italy – Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe (DSACEUR), General Sir James Everard, visited Allied Joint Force Command Naples on Jan. 23 to 24, 2018 to meet with senior military personnel for a situational awareness update on all areas of responsibility under their command.   

DSACEUR discussed, among other things, progress on the NATO Command Structure Adaptation, NATO Strategic Direction South Hub and training at all levels to deliver truly ready forces. 

"I think commanding, directing, supporting and serving troops on NATO's missions, operations and activities is, and always will be, the priority," said Everard. "But, more broadly, in 2017 we saw the year of Alliance solidarity. I think 2018 is the year of action."  

Everard highlighted Exercise Trident Juncture 2018, the NATO Response Force 2019 certification exercise for JFC Naples and its designated component commands. The upcoming October exercise, the largest live exercise for NATO since 2015, will feature 35,000 troops deploying to central and northern Norway and will test the rapid deployment of the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force and supporting troops.  

The General looked back to Trident Juncture 2015, the last exercise on a similar scale, to highlight the value of the upcoming live exercise and command post exercise. 

"What that showed you is a demonstration of intent, but when you do things at scale, when you experiment at scale, that's when you learn the big lessons," said Everard.