Multiple NATO military exercises—land, sea and air, are underway from the Arctic Sea to the Atlantic Ocean to the Balkans region of southern Europe. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg went on a tour yesterday that took him to Portugal where he visited Her Majesty’s aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth to take in the global empire that NATO has now become. “From these decks, the Queen Elizabeth projects power to keep us all safe,” Stoltenberg declared. “She carries U.S. Marines. She is protected by a Dutch frigate and she is on her way to the Pacific. So this is a perfect example of Europe and North America working together in NATO for our collective security.”
Steadfast Defender. The Queen Elizabeth is among 20 ships, 60 aircraft, 500 vehicles and over 9,000 personnel participating in Steadfast Defender, which Stoltenberg gushed “reflects NATO’s resolve to deter and defend across the Euro-Atlantic area.” The exercise, yet another in a series of events under Defender-Europe 21, runs from May 12 to June 22.
The Associated Press interviewed Stoltenberg, who did not name Russia, but held forth on how the focus of the Steadfast Defender mega-exercise is the movement of forces from across the Atlantic to the Balkans and the Black Sea. Who else could it be aimed at? “NATO is there to defend all our allies, and this exercise sends a message about our ability to transport a large number of troops, equipment across the Atlantic, across Europe and also to project maritime power,” he said.