NATO’s Mine Countermeasures Group is on the move

Despite the COVID 19 pandemic, Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group Two (SNMCMG2) is on the move, participating in exercise Dynamic Move 20-2.

Even though the exercise had fewer participants this year in order to reduce risk in the training rooms, 11 nations are involved in the event, planned and executed by the NATO Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM).

“Dynamic Move is the principal biannual computer assisted exercise aimed at building international staff capabilities in conducting a full range of mine countermeasures operations,” said MARCOM press officer Vitnija Saldava.

This phase of Dynamic Move is being hosted by the Italian Mine Warfare Forces Command at La Spezia, Italy. Participating nations include Belgium, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Italy, Norway, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Turkey, and the US.  The exercise will run until September 11.

According to Saldava, the exercise is controlled by naval mine warfare experts and other subject matter experts including maritime scientists, NATO Shipping Centre officers, legal advisors and media experts as well as personnel from École de Guerre des Mines, the NATO Naval Mine Warfare Centre of Excellence, the Italian Mine Warfare Training Centre (MARICENDRAG) and the NATO Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation (CMRE).

SNMCMG2 is one of four standing forces that comprise the maritime component of the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF), which is part of the NATO Response Force (NRF). These forces can be augmented by additional forces in contingencies to provide timely support to NATO operations.

“Dynamic Move 20-2 is an excellent opportunity to cooperate and train with officers from Allied nations in the field of mine countermeasures operations and thus developing and maintaining highly trained forces that can integrate seamlessly,” said Hellenic Navy Commander Dimitrios Katsouras, Commander of SNMCMG2.