On November 21, the Atlantic Council hosted a non-for-attribution roundtable with top Allied military and government officials to discuss the 2013 STEADFAST JAZZ exercise and the lessons learned for the future readiness and capabilities of NATO.

STEADFAST JAZZ, conducted in Poland, Latvia, and Lithuania in early November, tested Allied and partner forces in a NATO Article V collective defense scenario that was used to certify elements of the NATO Response Force (NRF). Discussants at the event covered the purpose for the exercise, setting the agenda for the 2014 NATO summit, an assessment of the Baltic States’ readiness to act in accordance with Article V, and strengthening cohesion among member states. A broader topic was a future direction for the Alliance as the Afghanistan joint operation comes to a conclusion in 2014.

The purpose of Steadfast Jazz was to train and test the NATO Response Force (NRF), a highly ready and technologically advanced multinational force made up of land, air, maritime and special forces components that the Alliance can deploy quickly wherever needed. The exercise involved 6,000 personnel from many Allied and partner nations. Around 3,000 participated in a live exercise, and an additional 3,000 headquarters personnel were involved in a command and control exercise.