On March 10, Multinational Corps Northeast (MNC NE) concluded exercise Griffin Lightning 23 (GRLI23). During this training event, multiple staffs from across the Corps enhanced their operational readiness throughout the whole chain of command, including the combat readiness evaluation (CREVAL) of Headquarters Multinational Division North (MND N). GRLI 23 is a periodic command post exercise designed to test MNC NE’s capabilities in simulated pre- and Article 5 environments. Additionally, this year’s iteration served as a platform to test and evaluate Headquarters Multinational Division North as a combat ready command.
Lieutenant General Jürgen-Joachim von Sandrart, Commander MNC NE, said:” With Multinational Division North, we gain a greater situation awareness and a more agile force. It is an important addition to the NATO Force Structure. While this exercise is an important milestone, we have to make sure that we remain vigilant and continually improve our interoperability and readiness. Accordingly, this exercise is a milestone, not an endpoint.”
Major General Flemming Mathiasen, Commander MND N, said:”We succeeded in working together, combining efforts and maximising the effects of our actions.”
Supervised by Allied Land Command (LANDCOM), the evaluation process was nuanced and aimed to check about how MND N is interoperable with the Corps and the rest of the Alliance. The chief purpose of CREVAL was to validate the command-and-control (C2) capabilities of the Division’s headquarters to perform its deterrence and defence mission, and to identify areas requiring improvement. Headquartered in ?daži, Latvia, the Division’s command comprises personnel from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom, in addition to Denmark, Estonia and Latvia as the Division’s framework nations.
It was established in 2019, alongside the already existing Headquarters Multinational Division North East from Elbl?g, Poland, in order to provide MNC NE with more robust C2 functions and greater situational awareness in the north of the Baltic Sea region. GRLI23 took place across multiple locations in the region, e.g. Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Germany. Of particular importance for the training output was the contribution by external stakeholders, including the German 1st Armoured and Polish 16th Mechanised Divisions. Their willingness to participate was an integral part of MNC NE’s ability to improve its operational capability and accomplish exercise and training objectives.
