Trident Juncture included the USS Harry S. Truman carrier strike group, as well as about 700 U.S Marines who have been on a scheduled rotational deployment to central and northern Norway since early 2017. Truman was the first carrier to operate above the Arctic Circle since the end of the Cold War when USS America took part in Exercise North Star in 1991.

Bakke-Jensen said membership in the NATO Alliance is the cornerstone of Norway’s security.  “Being a responsible and credible ally is of great importance to us.  We invest in transatlantic security.  We take our responsibility seriously.  We remain committed to do our share in the Alliance.”

Trident Juncture 18 offered a great opportunity for Norway to train and exercise its ability to receive and handle a large number of troops and equipment from abroad and operate collectively with allies and partners.  “It will also test Norway’s total defense concept, because it involves several civilian authorities,” he said. “Exercising in our challenging climate and our rugged terrain gives us confidence that we are better prepared to operate in the North and operate together.  Collective defence and deterrence was the founding principle of the Alliance.  Demonstrating the member countries’ ability and will to defend each other is deterrence in practice.  With all 29 NATO members participating, as well as our partners from Sweden and Finland, the exercise sends a strong message of unity.  We stand together.”

“That we’re able to move thousands of tons of equipment, thousands of soldiers, supplies, and we do that to prevent conflict,” Stoltenberg said. “If there is any doubt about our ability, our resolve, our will to protect Allies, then we risk that a potential adversary misunderstands, miscalculates, and uses force.”

As part of the effort to bring combat equipment to the fight, the U.S. Navy’s prepositioning ship USNS 1st Lt. Baldomero Lopez (T-AK 3010) sailed from Diego Garcia to Norway, a voyage of more than 9,000 nm, where her cargo of vehicles and equipment was offloaded.

Lopez is a Bobo-class maritime prepositioning ship designed to carry equipment, containers, and supplies to support a Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF). It is capable of discharging its cargo via Roll-on/Roll-off (RO/RO) or Lift-on/lift-off (LO/LO) methods utilizing Navy lighterage craft. She is assigned to Commander, Maritime Prepositioning Ships Squadron (COMPSRON) TWO stationed in Diego Garcia, British Indian Ocean Territory.

The 9,000 nautical mile transit took about 30 days from DGAR to Lisbon where the Marine Corps offload preparation party met the ship. From Lisbon the ship transited to Hammernsodden Norway to conduct a RO/RO offload and onload of equipment before transiting to north of the Arctic Circle where they conducted operations.

“That we’re able to move thousands of tons of equipment, thousands of soldiers, supplies, and we do that to prevent conflict,” Stoltenberg said. “If there is any doubt about our ability, our resolve, our will to protect Allies, then we risk that a potential adversary misunderstands, miscalculates, and uses force.”

According to the commander of NATO’s Joint Forces Command, U.S. Navy Adm. Jamie Foggo, Trident Juncture is designed to ensure that NATO forces are trained and ready. “Let me emphasize that this is an exercise. This is for training, but it is real because the lessons we learned are very real and they’ll benefit us in our desire to become more resilient and stronger together as an alliance.”