Croatia hosts major NATO exercise

Noble Midas 2007 took place in October in Croatia -- unofficially serving as a major test ahead of the final decision on Croatia's membership in NATO before the April summit in Bucharest.

In a Balkan country called Mapleland, bordering the Adriatic Sea, a political party tries to break away and create a new, independent state. The government requests UN assistance in the form of a peacekeeping force. The safety of ethnic and political minorities is at stake, as well as chemical weapons stockpiles and strategic gas and oil reserves.

This scenario, created by NATO planners, was the starting point for the Alliance's largest military exercise this year. Dubbed Noble Midas 2007, it was held from October 1st through the 12th, and was designed to prepare a new rotation of the NATO Response Force (NRF). The exercise also served as a sort of test for Croatia, which hopes to receive an invitation to join the Alliance at its April 2008 summit in Bucharest. As the host nation, Croatia used the exercise to further adapt to NATO standards at all levels, and to promote its own military units for integration into the NRF.

The Alliance's political-military tool for crisis operations around the globe, the NRF grew mainly out of experiences in the recent Balkan conflicts. At NATO's November 2006 Riga Summit, the force was declared to be at full operational capability, with up to 25,000 troops provided by member states. Within weeks, as of January 2008, the NRF will have maintained full combat readiness for six months. It will be ready for deployment in five to 15 days, if necessary.

Visiting the French Navy Tonnerre command ship off the city of Split, President Stipe Mesic expressed his satisfaction with Croatia's involvement in the event. "Everything I heard about our military component in the exercise is only the best," he said.

The live exercise included personnel from 12 NATO nations -- Bulgaria, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Spain, Turkey, the UK and the United States -- as well as partnership nations Albania and Croatia. Forces included 60 aircraft, 40 ships and six submarines. Approximately 8,000 troops were involved in the exercise, with 2,000 of them participating directly in the area.

The exercise areas were the international and Croatian waters of Adriatic Sea, the southeastern part of Croatian island of Zirje, the Lora naval base at Split, Zemunik and Divulje air bases at Zadar and Split, the Eugen Kvaternik Military Range at Slunj and the Red Earth Range at Knin. Together with small Croatian naval and land task groups, the Croatian Air Force detached four MiG-21 fighter jets, four training turbo-prop light aircraft and several transport helicopters.

Croatian Defence Minister Berislav Roncevic stressed that all levels of government were involved in the organisation of the exercise. Total costs were around 1m euros, with 80% of the cost returned through NATO's so-called Warsaw Initiative.

"It is not the armed forces only that would join NATO membership, but the state as a whole," he said. "NATO considers Croatia a partner and an ally. Croatian companies signed different business contracts with NATO militaries in total value of more than 1.5m euros. The exercise is really a test of our organisational skills, but also the test of Croatia's armed forces interoperability and compatibility with armed forces of NATO countries."

Croatian Air Force Command's Operational Department chief Colonel Drazen Scuri was particularly satisfied with Croatia's involvement in the forces that were opposing NRF in the exercise, attacking surface ships and disturbing NATO operations. Croatian military pilots were familiar with Allied procedures from previous bilateral exercises. But this time, they were involved in air-to-surface missions, as NATO air controllers directed the aircraft from the ground. Air interceptions in groups of two to four aircraft were another new mission for Croatian fighter pilots.

"We are pleased with our results, particularly with the new experience that we can use in further adaptation of NATO standards," Scuri said.

US Navy Commander Joe Overstreet was the NATO liaison officer at the Zemunik air base. He co-ordinated the Croatian Air Force flights with NATO's Combined Air Operation Centre in Greece. "It was challenging to bring ten different countries together and co-ordinate an exercise of this magnitude. There were over 60 aircraft flying from as many as 20 different directions from six countries. From my perspective, co-ordination with Croatia was fantastic," he said. (Setimes)