News

Sharpening The Tip Of NATO's Spear

It's expected that NATO's Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF) will deploy when Britain takes command next year.

That's the verdict of Brigadier Mike Elviss, Commander of 20th Armoured Infantry Brigade, which will provide much of the force's firepower and troop contribution.

He spoke to Forces Network about Britain's place in the VJTF:

"We're the NATO spearhead element, we're the spearhead of the land component, and I could see us deploying to reassure... a host nation, to deter an adversary, and, if required, to defend ground against any belligerent action".

Brig Elviss also said that his brigade could be part of NATO's quick reaction force, that would support battlegroups that are deploying to Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Poland next year.

The brigadier is confident that the VJTF can lend reassurance to Baltic states nervous about Russia, and that Russia has been watching the exercises being conducted by the VJTF in the last several days.

"As we come to readiness at the first of January... there's a challenge, of course, in making sure that we retain our readiness and the edge that we continue to hone over the coming months... We've got a really active programme of exercise and events for the tail end of this year and the first half of next year. So the main challenge I think is making sure that we are ready if and when we are required [to deploy]."

The brigadier said that he considers it a priviledge to hold his command within the VJTF and to take over leadership of the force from the Spanish.