The Final Coordinating Conference (FCC) for the Defense exercise called Joint Star 18 (JS18) has just ended at the logistics base of the Cecina Army.
This year, for the first time, the exercise will be an opportunity for the Operational Command of Vertice Interforce (COI) to train as a Joint Forces Command capable of planning and conducting specific operational activities of the Small Joint Operations-SJOs / High Intensity type, in environments characterized by the cyber threat and Nuclear Radioactive Biological Chemical (CBRN), and for the training of national commands and assets destined to compose the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF) (Land), (Maritime) and (Air) also in optics of their future certification.
The commander of the IOC, team admiral Cavo Dragone, during his speech at the FCC reiterated the importance of cohesion between the Armed Forces in an exercise where interoperability is the basis for the success of the exercise itself and where perfecting essential procedures to face in an even more efficient and effective way the challenges to present and future threats to national and international security.
In February at the Officers' School The planning process was initiated by the AM in Viterbo through the Joint Operational Planning Group (JOPG), which effectively simulated the drafting of all the necessary plans for the forces that will be used on the basis of the exercise scenario.
The JS18 is divided into two parts based on a shared scenario in the context of a Non-Article 5 Crisis Response Operation (NA5CRO).
The first part is a type of Live Exercise (LIVEX - with units deployed) at the tactical level which involves mutual training support between the Armed Forces during serial events at the shared tactical level (shared activity) and the verification of the expeditionary capacity of a contingent joint on an Operative Theater to be held in May in Sardinia.
The second part is a computer assisted exercise - Command Post Exercise / Computer Assisted Exercise (CPX / CAX) - at the operational level aimed at conducting amphibious operations in the context of a COI-led Small Joint Operation-SJO / High Intensity. In this context, cyber events will also be simulated. The CAX program also includes the planning and conduct of targeting.
Activities that are common to both parties include the execution of events related to the Joint Personnel Recovery (JPR), the processing of information relating to the CBRN framework and the management of information flows to support the situational awarenness and the consequent decision-making process. .
The activity represents an excellent opportunity and a significant return for Defense in terms of interoperability and integration between the Armed Forces (an aspect of extreme importance for use in an international context), of maximizing training value for a wide audience of participants and fund optimization. The JS18 is designed to train the commands and forces on the different types of missions that may be the subject of future national, multinational and coalition operations.
