Daily Archives: April 7, 2017

NATO Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller reaffirmed the Alliances strong support for Ukraine in a speech on Thursday (6 April 2017). Speaking at the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, she said a recent meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission underscored the Alliances ongoing and steadfast support for Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity. The Deputy Secretary General said Ukraine is a valued NATO partner and that, NATO does not, and will not, accept Russias illegal and illegitimate annexation of Crimea. And we condemn Russias ongoing destabilization in eastern Ukraine.

Ukraine has been an important NATO partner for many years, having joined the North Atlantic Cooperation Council in 1991 and NATOs Partnership for Peace program in 1994. Ms. Gottemoeller said the country is making a great deal of progress on its reform agenda and it could rely on NATOs continued support on this issue.

Ms. Gottemoeller highlighted NATOs Comprehensive Assistance Package for Ukraine, which includes more than forty tailored support measures and six different multi-million-euro Trust Funds.

Among them is the Medical Rehabilitation Trust Fund, which provides support to wounded soldiers as well as to hospitals and physicians. Only last week, NATO opened a new rehabilitation facility in Kharkiv. In September, a Ukrainian team of athletes whom NATO helped to rehabilitate will compete in the 2017 Invictus Games in Toronto.

After her speech, the Deputy Secretary General met Ukraines President Petro Poroshenko, the Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman, Deputy Prime Minister Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze and other senior government figures.

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NATO - News: Deputy Secretary General: Ukraine is a valued NATO ... - NATO HQ (press release)

Forbes

Trump Reminds Merkel What Germany Owes NATO Forbes President Trump has many vices, but subtlety is not one of them. In his usual Saturday morning Tweet storm, the president denounced reports that he had anything other than, a GREAT meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the White House the ... and more »

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Trump Reminds Merkel What Germany Owes NATO - Forbes

To the casual observer, the scene mightve looked like an odd cross between a reenactment of a past war and a demonstration of a future conflict. Elite special operators, some of whom were speaking foreign languages, were roving around the hills of West Virginia on foot, horseback, all-terrain vehicles, and by helicopter, while practicing specialized tactics, some of which are nearly a century old.

But this wasnt another remake of the movie Red Dawn or a weird time-traveling short story. It was a real life, routine exercise called Ridge Runner 2017 that occurred in February 2017. The particular group of participants including special operators from the Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, all of whom are NATO members and certain practice sessions suggested the event had a lot to do with Russias increasingly revanchist polices in Europe.

Broadly, Ridge Runners purpose is to provide challenging, realistic, and meaningful training, the training programs official website says. In a changing world where global security threats are taking new forms in an increasingly swift and unpredictable manner, Ridge Runner is a training opportunity for [special operations forces] and [general purpose forces] to enhance their readiness to meet these missions.

The West Virginia Army National Guard runs the irregular warfare program for the benefit special operations forces and conventional troops, other government agencies, and sometimes American allies, all of whom who want to make use of the states unique Advanced Mobility Training Area. The facility is huge, covering approximately 500,000 acres of both public and private land, which state and federal authorities use under land agreements with the owners.

US Army

Special operators conduct a mock sensitive site exploitation during Ridge Runner 2017.

The entire setup provides a real, populated zone with various natural and man-made features for troops and police to practice both containing mock insurgencies and terrorist movements in friendly territory and working behind enemy lines with local forces made up of other troops and civilian role players. The Pentagon refers to the latter task of training irregular forces in foreign countries to conduct guerrilla warfare against hostile governments or occupying forces as unconventional warfare.

The 2017 iteration included members of the U.S. Armys 10th Special Forces Group, the West Virginia Army National Guard, and the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, as well as the Baltic special operations forces. The West Virginia State Police also took part in the event.

Before Ridge Runner, during the Cold War, Green Berets had also trained in West Virginia as part of previous guerrilla warfare programs, including one known as Guerrilla USA. And the overall structure of newer training sessions, along with the practice area itself, shared many similarities with the Armys Special Forces capstone qualification exercise, nicknamed Robin Sage.

Held at various times throughout the year, Robin Sage puts the latest batch of Green Beret candidates through that unconventional warfare scenario set in the fake region of Atlantica that covers much of the United States eastern seaboard. The basic premise is that the trainees must support resistance forces in the Republic of Pineland North Carolina against invading forces from United Provinces of Atlantica, which stretches from Maine to Virginia.

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The focus of Ridge Runner can be more varied, but the unconventional warfare tasks would be similar. During the 2017 iteration, troops and police conducted heli-borne raids against simulated militant camps and practiced hunting for insurgents with dogs, among other events. After assaulting the mock compounds, special operators trained on how to pick over the sites for possible intelligence, a skill known as sensitive site exploitation.

In addition, special operations forces learned how to perform less common military tasks. One of these events included covertly infiltrating into areas at night on horses. Some regions have roads that are too small for even small pickup trucks, if there are any roads at all, and animals might be the only mode of transport. American elite troops regularly practice how to utilize and care for both horses and pack animals like donkeys for specialized operations. In 2001, Green Berets famously rode around Afghanistan on horseback, supporting North Alliance fighters and fighting the Taliban.

Another task involved a nearly 100 year-old method of sending messages from hard to reach areas. During that practice session, elite troops strung a rope trapeze with the physical message between two poles. Contractors from Colorado-headquartered Rampart Aviation flew a de Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otter low enough that an individual in the back could grab the line with a grappling hook.

US Army

A contractor-operated de Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otter swoops down to pick up a message.

Pennsylvania dentist Dr. Lytle Schooler Adams invented this system in the 1920s. In 1937, he founded All American Aviation with the express purpose of picking up and delivering mail in remote regions. Between 1939 and 1949, his airline delivered approximately 75,000 pounds of mail to small towns and villages in Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and West Virginia, according to the National Postal Museum. Today, most people would know All American Aviation by its current name, U.S. Airways.

During World War II, Army aviators used the system to rapidly send orders and other information across the battlefield in lieu of radios. Early special operators also used the gear to deliver and recover equipment and intelligence from partisans and agents in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. On top of that, the trapeze arrangement proved useful for getting downed troop gliders back into the air and even snatching individuals right off the ground. In the 1950s, inventor Robert Fulton improved on the basic principle to create his famous Skyhook recovery device.

For a special operations team today, the method could be useful if enemy forces had either jammed or tried to intercept radio communications, threatening to expose friendly positions or reveal sensitive information. Russian troops have employed electronic warfare systems to great effect, coupled with their own special operations forces on the ground, while supporting separatists in eastern Ukraine and government security forces in Syria.

US Army

A special operator on horseback during Ridge Runner 2017.

And if the presence of the Baltic special operations forces was any indication, it appears that Ridge Runner 2017 may have been inspired by Russia in other ways, too. While the mock insurgencies and counterinsurgencies might reflect missions American forces, both conventional and special operations, might expect in their near future, for Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian operators it is a scenario they might be able to imagine in their own back yards.

After Russia invaded Ukraines Crimea region in March 2014, subsequently annexed the peninsula, and began supporting armed separatists fighting Kievs authority in the countrys eastern Donbas region, many of Russias neighbors worried they might be next. Semi-autonomous republics inside the Soviet Union until 1991, all three Baltic countries also have significant ethnic Russian populations who have at times agitated for greater freedoms and accused government authorities of trying to stamp out their culture.

Since their independence, Baltic officials continued to worry about Kremlin-backed political movements, insurgencies, or even an outright invasion. In 2004, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania all joined NATO in no small part because of these concerns.

A brief war in 2008 between Russia and Georgia only served to reinforce those fears. Georgia was another former Soviet republic that had been waging a low-level counterinsurgency campaign against pro-Russian groups. Authorities in Tbilisi decided to make a push to recapture the breakaway provinces of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, but ended up routed by Moscows troops.

US Army

West Virginia State Police K-9 unit moves out.

Afterwards, in both of the de facto independent countries, the Russian Ruble became the official currency and citizens began to carry Russian passports, making it seem like total annexation was inevitable. The events in Ukraine, yet another former Soviet republic, only compounded the anxiety in the Baltic region.

Then, In September 2014, the Russian Federal Security Service, a successor to the Soviet KGB that is also better known by its Russian acronym, FSB, detained Estonian Internal Security Service officer Eston Kohver under suspicious circumstances. Moscow claimed Kohver had crossed the border was attempted to conduct an intelligence operation on Russian soil. The response from Tallinn was that the FSB had kidnapped him.

After a year in Russian hands, a show trial and a brief imprisonment, Kohver returned home as part of a prisoner swap. In a scene out of a Cold War spy drama, Aleksei Dressen, who Estonian authorities had charged with treason for working with the FSB, walked past Kohver on a bridge over Piusa River onto Russian soil.

US Army

Special operations forces assault a building during Ridge Runner 2017.

If a conflict with Russia or Russian-backed partisans were to break out in the Baltics, special operations forces would likely be key actors to either tackle anti-government groups or lead resistance against occupying forces. A stay-behind force led by special operators might be critical in the event of an actual invasion.

Thanks to the shared history of the Soviet Union, the capitals of present day Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are all less than 200 miles straight down a major highway from the Russian border. In Lithuanias case, the boundary is with Russias strategic enclave in Kaliningrad, which has significant forces permanently stationed within.

In February 2016, the RAND Corporation think tank released a shocking report suggesting that Russian troops could seize control of the seats of government in Estonia and Latvia within three days. More damning, according to the analysis, NATO would be hard pressed to stop the offensive or even counterattack, despite American efforts to improve their military capabilities near the alliances borders with Russia.

US Army

Baltic operators provide security during Ridge Runner 2017.

In 2014, President Barack Obama announced the beginning of the European Reassurance Initiative (ERI), which led to an uptick in training exercises, troop deployments, and aerial patrols along NATOs eastern flanks. The Pentagons dubbed the mission Operation Atlantic Resolve. In December 2016, American officials decided to accelerate the initial deployments of new rotating force packages in the Baltic States, Poland, and Romania. The first Army contingents began arriving the next month, which prompted Russian officials to say they would respond in kind to the "provocation."

But during the 2016 election campaign and after his victory and inauguration, President Donald Trump repeatedly stated his desire for better relations with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Even more worrisome to residents in Baltics was the language of one his most vocal supporters. I'm not sure I would risk a nuclear war over some place which is the suburbs of St. Petersburg, Republican politician and Trump surrogate Newt Gingrich said on CBS This Morning in July 2016.

Trumps election sent a shiver through the whole region, Eerik-Niiles Kross, an Estonian parliamentarian who formerly acted as the countrys intelligence coordinator, told The New York Times after the election in November 2016. So, Baltic officials may be inclined to prepare for any contingency, with or without American help.

Still, the lessons their special operations forces learned at Ridge Runner 2017 could only help with that type of planning.

Contact the author: jtrevithickpr@gmail.com

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U.S. And NATO Special Ops Just Fought a Fake Guerrilla War in ... - The Drive

An extra special duo of visitors in the shape of two NATO warships are visiting Belfast.

The trio, led by group flagship, Norwegian frigate Roald Amundsen and Spanish frigate ESPS Reina Sofia arrived in Northern Ireland on Thursday night at Pollock Dock for a brief port visit during which they will meet with local leaders as well as enjoy a mini break in Belfast this weekend.

The ships are part of Standing NATO Maritime Group One (SNMG1) and fresh from completing their participation in the UKs tri-service multinational exercise Joint Warrior 17-1 (JW 171) off the north west coast of Scotland.

Read more: Belfast hosting fleet of Nato warships for the weekend

During that exercise the ships worked with nearly 30 highly capable warships and submarines from more than 10 allied and partnering countries.

The idea of the exercise Joint Warrior is to provide a range of scenarios and unique challenges to the command team, and to each ship, giving the ships and crews opportunities to sharpen their warfighting capabilities.

Commodore Ole Morten Sandquist, Commander SNMG1, exercised command over three additional warships during the exercise; Danish command and support ship HDMS Absalon and HDMS Vaedderen as well as German oiler FGS Bonn.

He described it as challenging training for the group.

Joint Warrior was very well planned and executed, he said.

It provided a range of challenging scenarios that could realistically be encountered in operations.

Together with professional and highly skilled counterparts, it gave us challenging and good training for use in a combined joint task force. We entered the exercise as a group of ships at a high level of readiness but left in even better shape. I am very pleased with the outcome of the exercise.

SNMG1 is one of four standing maritime forces composed of ships from various allied countries. These vessels are permanently available to NATO to perform different tasks ranging from participation in exercises to operational missions. They also serve as an oncall maritime force as a part of the NATO Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF).

SNMG1s main area of operation is to the North Atlantic, including the Baltic Sea. Their main objective is to provide immediate maritime capability to the NATO Alliance, enhancing maritime situational awareness, demonstrate solidarity, conduct routine diplomatic visits, exhibiting forward presence and contributing to operational interoperability among Allied naval forces to support greater regional security and stability.

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NATO warships dock in Belfast for brief Northern Ireland visit ... - Belfast Telegraph

General Dynamics has been awarded a NATO contract to bring the alliance to cloud-based IT.

Under the five-year NATO Communications and Information Agency contract, which has a potential value of $140 million, General Dynamics will "deliver the most significant upgrade to the organization's technical infrastructure in decades," according to a General Dynamics news release.

"General Dynamics will partner with the NCI Agency to implement a fully-modern, private cloud-based infrastructure that will improve the operational efficiency and effectiveness of NATO's IT enterprise," the company said. "This will be accomplished through a series of IT modernization phases, including: updating obsolete IT infrastructure; implementing NATO-wide continuity and disaster recovery capabilities; clarifying service levels in cloud computing terms; enhancing information security measures; increasing operational agility by enabling the dynamic reallocation of resources; and reducing [operation and maintenance] costs through the streamlining of management and operations."

General Dynamics will also "implement multiple Service Operations Centers that will enable real-time command and control of NATO-provided IT services. Work on this contract will be based in Belgium and performed across many of the 28 NATO member nations."

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General Dynamics brings NATO to the cloud - C4ISR & Networks

NATO marked the International Day for Mine Awareness on Tuesday (4 April 2017), observed annually to highlight the deadly threat that mines pose to civilians lives and nations development. NATO has a strong track record in humanitarian demining, working with partners ranging from Ukraine to Afghanistan, and from Georgia to Egypt. To date, the Alliance has helped destroy more than 5 million anti-personnel landmines, as well as 642,000 pieces of unexploded ordnance.

Over the years, NATO has also trained thousands of experts in explosive ordnance disposal and counter-IED techniques. Following the March explosion at the Balaklia arms depot, NATO Science for Peace and Security (SPS) Programme is providing personal protection such as bomb suits and demining equipment, as well as communication systems to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine.

The NATO SPS Programme is also working in close cooperation with partner countries to develop advanced mine detection technologies to ensure a better, safer and more efficient demining process. Examples include: subsurface radar technology in Ukraine; devices suitable for demining in the Egyptian desert; and techniques tailored to under-water mine detection in Montenegro.

The United Nations General Assembly declared in 2005 that 4 April of each year shall be observed as The International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action.

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NATO marks International Day for Mine Awareness - NATO HQ (press release)

RUAG Aviation integrated a pilot assistance and helicopter safety solution on the Airbus Helicopters EC635, on behalf of the Swiss Air Force, for use in recent North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)-sponsored trials. The goal of the international trials cited technology-testing for enhancing safety during helicopter operations in limited visibility environments.

Held at lggialp, Switzerland, the NATO trials focused on degraded visual environments (DVE) caused specifically by snow or whiteout conditions. The Swiss DVE whiteout trials operated out of the Swiss Air Force helicopter base in Alpnach, Switzerland, where RUAG Aviation also maintains an independent Center of Excellence for helicopter maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO).

The DVE trials ran from Feb. 20 to 23, 2017.

The NATO DVE trials were held in the interest of technology and knowledge sharing, across international borders, on solutions specifically designed to improve safety and mitigate risk for both pilots and helicopters. RUAG Aviation became a key player in the NATO whiteout trials, integrating the pilot assistance and helicopter safety system in use during the event into the EC635 platform belonging to the Swiss Air Force. This helicopter acts as a capability demonstrator and will be used for further live tests.

The Sferion based solution initially developed by Airbus DS Electronics & Border Security GmbH is specifically configured to be integrated into any helicopter platform.

Amid prototypes and various research projects, this integration showcased the vast and thorough helicopter systems and engineering expertise amassed by RUAG Aviation from our continuing work on behalf of the Swiss and German Air Forces, as well as for helicopter emergency services (HEMS) and civil operators, said Claudio Zeiter, team leader commercial helicopter services, RUAG Aviation. We are pleased to have been able to make such a significant contribution to these DVE whiteout trials and allow the international community to experience precisely how systems and technologies can interact to provide improved visualization and enhanced safety for both pilot and machine during DVE conditions.

DVE is widely-recognized as a significant issue, concerning the entire helicopter community, public and private. It is one of the pressing issues which RUAG Aviation addresses in its function as an independent aircraft services provider and systems integrator for military and civil operators worldwide.

Civil operators can rely on outstanding engineering support, benefiting from the companys European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) certification as an approved Part 21J Design Organization (DOA) and decades of system integrations expertise for business jet, business and HEMS helicopter, as well as military aircraft platforms.

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RUAG integrates pilot assistance and safety solution on EC635 for NATO DVE flight trials - Vertical Magazine (press release)

The strange and opportunistic partnership between Turkey and Russia was on full display in the Black Sea this week, as the two sides conducted joint naval exercisessure to irk NATO.Newsweek:

Russias Black Sea Fleet joined the Turkish navy in the strategic body of water, which has been a source ofheightened tensions due to parallel military exercisesby Russia and members of NATO, of which Turkey was a part. []

As part ofthe drill, ships ofthe two countries practiced exit froma naval base, joint maneuvering and communication, aswell asrepelling an attack ofa small-sized high-speed target, an inspection operation, search forand rescue ofa person inthe water, Trukhachev told reporters, according to RussiasSputnik News.

In one sense, this is a dynamic that has been obvious for a while:Turkey is restless and Russia is happy to be a flirt. Erdogan, for his part, has been fanning the flames of anti-Western sentiment at home leading up to the bigreferendumon expanding the powers of the Presidency. Doing war games with Russia serves similar domestic needs: it signalsthat Turkeyhas geopolitical options outside Western institutions, and that Erdogan has global clout. For Russia, the drills providea golden opportunity to pick at growing schism between NATO allies.

At the end of the day, everyone concernedknows that there are strict limits to the relationship between Russia and Turkey. (Its already a Potemkin friendship.) But games like this are not without consequence.Themistrust being generated is real, and will impact the Alliance going forward.

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Turkey and Russia Troll NATO in the Black Sea - The American Interest