Largest Amphibious Exercise in a Decade Set to Kick Off

Largest Amphibious Exercise in a Decade Set to Kick Off

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Marines from Sweden, Finland and the United Kingdom conduct an amphibious assault on a beach in Sweden in June. NATO allies will hold the largest amphibious exercise in a decade across three European countries this fall.(Photo: Sgt. Tatum Vayavananda/Marine Corps)[/caption]In a sure sign that tensions in Europe are on the rise, the pace of training in Europe continues to increase along with the tension. 36,000 allied troops are set to take part in Trident Juncture from October to November.The downsizing of the force coupled with the continued addition of training rotations around the world mean that the operations tempo will not be getting lighter any time soon. More details on Trident Juncture from the Army Times:NATO will hold its largest amphibious exercise in more than a decade this fall with more than 30 nations and 36,000 allied troops participating, including robust support from U.S. soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines.Trident Juncture, set to unfold across Western Europe from Oct. 3 to Nov. 6, will take place as tensions continue to escalate between Russia and some Eastern European NATO members who are shaken by saber-rattling in the region and continued Russian intervention in Ukraine.While the host nations — Spain, Portugal and Italy — don’t necessarily consider Russia to be a major threat, their NATO allies in Eastern Europe do, said Luke Coffey, a former Army captain who’s now a fellow at the Heritage Foundation, a Washington, D.C., think tank.

“The reality is NATO is a defensive alliance, meaning Estonia is defended the same way as Spain or D.C.,” Coffey said. “An attack on Estonia is an attack on Spain, whether Spain likes it or not.”What you need to know about this massive exercise.Read the rest at the Army Times.[mwi-cat-listing cat="94" ppp="4" cols="4" desc="false" type="view" btn_color="black" ]