Helsinki hosts NATO exercise programme alignment conference

A two-day long NATO Exercise Programme Alignment Conference (NEPAC) is begining in Helsinki on Tuesday, said the Finnish Defense Forces in a press release on Monday.

The conference is led by the Assistant Chief of Staff (ACOS) J7 Division from Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) which is the Headquarters of Allied Command Operations (ACO).

As part of NATO membership, it is also the responsibility of Finland and the Finnish Defense Forces to participate in the organization of various events related to NATO activities.

The Finnish Defense Forces will host the meeting and participate in the event for the first time as a full member of NATO.

The NATO's command and force structure, all member countries and Sweden will participate in the meeting.

The Training Division of the Finnish Defense Command is responsible for the organization of the event, and the Deputy Chief of Staff (DCOS) Personnel Major General Rami Saari hosts the meeting.

Last year, the Training Division of the Finnish Defense Command was offered the opportunity to host the event in Helsinki.

In light of the recent events the conference offers Finland as the newest member country a good opportunity to present own know-how and, concretely, perspectives on collective training and exercises as part of collective defense. The event involves a meeting of Nordic Chiefs of Training.

The term NATO Military Exercise includes all exercises for which a NATO Commander is the initiating authority and where the Allies practice Alliance military missions with the responsibilities of the NATO command and force structure.

The operations and tasks in the exercises are based on all three Alliance military missions: Article 5 Collective Defence, Non-Article 5 Crisis Response and Consultation and Co-operation.

The bi-annual NEPAC serves as the venue where the exercise programmes of NATO and Allies are synchronized to support the achievement of the goals set for NATO's collective training and exercises and further the NATO's ability to fulfill its missions.

The process is managed through NATO Military Training and Exercise Programme, MTEP. The MTEP provides detailed information on training, exercises and related activities scheduled for the next five calendar years.