From 29 August to 9 September, the NATO exercise took place at the command of the Mine Countermeasures Forces (MARICODRAG) of the Navy in La Spezia. Dynamic Move 2023-II. The exercise, traditionally divided into two annual events, one in Italy and one at the Naval Academy Campus in Ostend (NAC) organized by the NATO Maritime Command (MARCOM), takes place through the use of computers and advanced simulation software and aims to train NATO staff in the planning and conduct of mine countermeasures (CMM) operations in a simulated international crisis scenario between countries.
The edition that has just ended saw the participation of around 70 officers specialized in mines and mine countermeasures and non-commissioned officers with extensive experience on board minehunters, as well as personnel from the amphibious component, Legal Advisors, experts in sectors linked to the communication system and coordination of military and merchant traffic (AWNIS, Allied Worldwide Navigational Information System, and NCAGS, Naval Cooperations and Guidance for Shipping), as well as personnel from the NATO experimentation and research center (CMRE, Center for Maritime Research and Experimentation) train in a complex scenario and work closely with navies from all over the world. This is a training opportunity of the highest level, preparatory to the use and maximum effectiveness of the staff embarked on board the permanent NATO mine countermeasures groups (Standard NATO Mine Counter Measure Group 1 - SNMCMG1, which operates in northern Europe and Standard Born Mine Counter Measure Group 2 - SNMCMG2, permanently active in the Mediterranean Sea).
Added value of the exercise, in addition to the extensive participation of multiple countries, including those outside NATO, is the participation of the SNMCMG2 CTG staff, on an operational stop in La Spezia for the occasion and currently sailing in the Eastern Mediterranean to carry out its tasks institutional defense and surveillance and safeguarding of freedom of navigation.
The appointment is for Dynamic Move 2024, whose second edition will be held in September and will be hosted again by MARICODRAG.
The central role that Italy continues to play in recent years in the MCM community, represented by the command of the Mine Countermeasures Forces and its exclusive MARICENDRAG training center, is a great demonstration of the importance that the country has as a reference for NATO in the field of mine warfare, for the countries bordering the Mediterranean and for the entire Atlantic Alliance.
