multinational exercises

Definition/Scope: (JP 3-07.1) Multinational exercises involve the armed forces of more than two countries. Further, a multinational exercise becomes a Joint multinational exercise if more than one (e.g., Army and Air Force) Service participates. The Army’s role is to provide forces and Title X support to combatant commanders. One example is the Army’s biennial exercise Cooperative Spirit which includes forces from the American, British, Canadian, and Australian (ABCA) program. Cooperative Spirit 2008 (CS08) was conducted in Germany, and included units from the armies of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. The aim of CS08 was validating key interoperability solutions, identifying future ABCA program work, and building mutual trust and confidence for future ABCA operations. The objectives of CS08 were: validating interoperability gap-closing solutions; validating the Multilateral Interoperability Program; identifying future ABCA program work; practicing national and coalition command and staff procedures; and achieving national training objectives. They offer the advantage of training US forces while simultaneously increasing interoperability with HN forces and offering limited HN training opportunities.

Broader Terms:

7th Army Joint Multinational Training Command
Combat Training Center
Joint Multinational Training Center
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
US Army, Europe, Combatant Command, GEO

Narrower Terms:

Cooperative Longbow-2009
Fuerzas Aliadas PANAMAX
Joint Multinational Readiness Center
training

Related Terms:

Army Capabilities Integration Center
Multinational Planning Augmentation Team
Theater Security Cooperation