NATO has been conducting Alliance-level exercises for over fifty-five years, since 1951. In the early years of the Alliance, NATO forces conducted exercises to strengthen their ability to practice collective defence. In other words, they were conducted to ensure that forces were prepared in the case of an attack.
An integrated force under centralized command was called for in September 1950. By December 1950, the first Supreme Commander Europe, U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower, was appointed.
Following the appointment of General Eisenhower, national forces were put under centralized command. The Alliance’s first exercises were held in the autumn of 1951. During 1953, there were approximately 100 exercises of various kinds conducted by NATO commanders. From this point NATO forces were no longer a collection of national units, but were beginning to gain cohesion. A year after Allied Command Europe became operational, General Eisenhower reported that “the combat readiness of our troops has improved markedly.”
In 1994, the Alliance launched the Partnership for Peace initiative. One of the initiative’s objectives is to promote closer military cooperation and interoperability. From that time, members of the Partnership for Peace were able to participate in peacekeeping field exercises.
In 2002, the NATO Response Force was created. Most recently, emphasis has been placed on exercises conducted in support of the NATO Response Force. This training is intended to ensure that the Force is able to deploy quickly and operate effectively in a variety of situations.
At the 2004 Istanbul Summit, Alliance leaders elevated the Mediterranean Dialogue initiative to a genuine partnership, to include increased participation in exercises and individual training at NATO institutions.
At the same time, the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative was introduced, which paved the way for cooperation between NATO and countries from the broader Middle East in areas such as education and training, and made provision for partners to engage in joint training for terrorism and to train jointly with the NATO Response Force.
