FAIRFORD, Gloucestershire – Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), General Tod D. Wolters, visited exercise Loyal Leda 2020 in the United Kingdom on Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2020.
Loyal Leda is a NATO Article 5 command post exercise, delivering collective defence with Major Joint Operations force elements, but focused at the military tactical level of multi domain operations.
Today represents another instance of the Alliance not letting the pandemic become a security issue
Hosting the visitors, Allied Rapid Reaction Corps’ (ARRC) Commander, Lieutenant General Sir Edward Smyth-Osbourne provided key information about the warfighting exercise, which will certify the headquarters as NATO’s warfighting Corps at readiness.
“This particular certification is significant because it is the first time a three-star level headquarters has been held at this level of readiness for an extended period since the end of the Cold War. Despite the challenges from COVID, ARRC and LANDCOM were still able to accomplish this crucial task. Today represents another instance of the Alliance not letting the pandemic become a security issue… our critical work will be done for defence and deterrence of the Alliance,” said General Wolters.
Supreme Allied Commander Europe, General Tod D. Wolters, joined other high ranking military officers during a visit to Gloucestershire, England the location of exercise Loyal Leda 2020 on Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2020. Loyal Leda is a NATO Article 5 command post exercise. - Photo by Allied Rapid Reaction Corps'
Visitors to the exercise included Allied Command Operation’s Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe (DSACEUR) General Tim Radford, Commander Joint Force Command Brunssum General Jörg Vollmer and the U.K.’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Sir Nicholas Carter.
The U.K. element of this exercise, with over 1,000 personnel dispersed across a number of sites in Gloucestershire, will certify the headquarters to NATO standards to ensure they can integrate and command multinational Divisions and up to 120,000 troops across multiple domains, including Cyber and Space.
These essential visits ensure valuable lessons gleaned from the exercise are promulgated to the ARRC’s sister High Readiness Force headquarters across Europe. The ARRC will maintain high readiness until January 2022, when it will hand over the role and the War Fighting Corps ‘guidon’ to NATO’s Rapid Deployable Corps in Spain under NATO’s Long-Term Commitment Plan.