3 Nov. 2003

Exercise Allied Action tests Joint Task Force deployment News 31/10/2003 - IMS Exercise Allied Action 2003 NATO Exercises a combined Joint Task Force in Turkey Related links Allied Forces Northern Europe (AFNORTH) Allied Action 2003, a NATO exercise taking place in Istanbul from 3 to 18 November will test NATO's ability to rapidly plan and launch a multinational crisis response operation. The exercise will validate NATO Regional Headquarters Allied Forces North Europe (RHQ AFNORTH) as an operational level headquarters, capable of launching a fully deployable Combined Joint Task Force with troops from NATO and partner countries. It is one of a series started in 1999, designed to test and validate NATO concepts and doctrine to meet the challenges of possible future operations. Over 2000 personnel will participate from 17 NATO member countries, six of the countries expected to join NATO next year and ten partner countries. The participants will practise the procedures for planning and deploying a multinational crisis response operation in fictitious countries beyond Alliance territory. The last NATO exercise in the series took place in Poland in 2001.