In an article published on May 30, 2109, the Italian Ministry of Defence highlighted the importance of the Joint Stars 2019 exercise.
Defence Minister Elisabetta Trenta today visited Decimomannu (Sardinia) on the occasion of Joint Stars 2019, the Defence most important exercise
“Over the last few years Joint Stars exercises have been a fundamental tool to assess the response capability – in full compliance with NATO training criteria- of our Armed Forces in the face of new crisis scenarios. Joint Stars 2019 pronounced joint, combined and interagency approach has given the exercise a much broader dimension as compared to the previous editions, confirming its very high value within the broader context of major Armed Forces exercises”.
This statement is an excerpt from Defence Minister Elisabetta Trenta’s speech, held on the occasion of Joint Stars 2019 (JS19) exercise, presently being conducted in Sardinia. Accompanied by Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Enzo Vecciarelli and by the Armed Forces and Customs Police top officers, the Minister attended the demonstration of a tactical event in the training area of Decimomannu base.
This year, for the first time, Comando Operativo di Vertice Interforze (COI) (Joint Command Operations), took part in the exercise –the most important one at the national level- as a Joint Command able to plan and conduct specific operational activities such as Small Joint Operations-SJOs/High Intensity, in environments characterized by cyber threats and Chemical, Biologic, Radioactive and Nuclear threats (CBRN), and witnessed the participation of personnel and assets from the Carabinieri Corps, Customs Police Corps, ENAV (Ente Nazionale per l’Assistenza al Volo), Fire Brigade and the Red Cross.
“In this way we have given Joint Stars a pronounced interagency approach, intended to test and develop an effective intervention capability, also within the context of a synergic cooperation with other State agencies”, Minister Trenta said.
“This kind of activities fully respond to the need to strengthen our Armed Forces’ capacities in a joint international perspective”, the Minister underscored. In her speech she also highlighted the value of the exercise as an “indispensable moment in terms of ensuring the effectiveness of our Armed Forces and, as a consequence, of our partners and allies, when faced with a, increasingly broad and insidious threat range“.
“Over the last few years Joint Stars has been an excellent opportunity in terms of interoperability, integration and participation, as well as for optimizing our resources in view of a future engagement in national, multinational and coalition operations”, Elisabetta Trenta added, recalling that the Armed Forces must be able to serve the State and support the Country and its citizens in all crisis and emergency situations.
In the future, in fact, Defence will increasingly be an integrated instrument within a broad “collective security” context, i.e. an integral part of a truly “national security general strategy”.
“Today, we live in a world characterized by increasing geopolitical instability, raising sensitive defence and security problems in terms of domestic and international security and defence. For certain, one such problems is preventing cyber threats“, the Minister explained, underscoring the need to have lines of intervention aimed at improving the management and control capabilities in tended to tackle this kind of threats, both within a military and civilian context. “This is an indispensable capability for all the countries who want to ensure the highest level of security for their citizens”.
Joint Stars 2019 is divided into 2 phases and is conducted at various locations in the national territory: the Tyrrhenian Sea, Rome, Taranto, Brindisi, Poggio Renatico, Trapani, Decimomannu, Pisa, Pratica di Mare, Amendola, Sigonella, Grosseto, Licola and Sardinia military ranges.