Commodore Jeanette Morang, Royal Netherlands Navy, handed over command of Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1) to Rear-Admiral Thorsten Marx, German Navy. The ceremony happened in Den Helder, homeport of the Royal Netherlands Navy, on January sixth. Commodore Morang assumed command of the multinational Process Group on July eighth 2022. It was deployed primarily within the Baltic and the North Sea, demonstrating NATO’s dedication to collective defence. Throughout a difficult yr following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it made a big contribution to maritime safety within the area. Talking on the handover ceremony, Commodore Morang praised the workers and crew throughout the Process Group.
“They’ve all proven keen willpower to contribute to NATO’s deterrence of Russia and assurance of Allies. particularly within the Japanese Baltic, and to exhibit NATO’s means to defend when the necessity would come up in these unsure instances. The Russians examined us solely as soon as. When Russian fighter plane from Kaliningrad Oblast overflew the Process Group at 300ft. This was an occasion the place the chance of miscalculation offered itself in full. Luckily, we had educated for conditions like this, and all acted cool {and professional}. A rewarding 6 month interval in my lengthy naval profession has come to an finish. I relinquish command of Standing NATO Maritime Group one,” Commodore Jeanette Morang mentioned.
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The Baltic Sea area is of nice strategic significance, bordered by six Allied nations. NATO deploys maritime forces within the Baltic Sea in an effort to preserve a reputable and succesful defensive functionality in accordance with treaty obligations. The Germany Navy additionally deployed Brandenburg-class Kind F123 frigate Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (F218) to hitch the NATO’s Very Excessive Readiness Joint Process Drive (VJTF). Throughout this deployment, the frigate will function the flagship of the brand new German commander of the Nato unit for a interval of subsequent six months. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern together with a crew of 210 members, has been deployed within the northern flank space of operation, which incorporates the North Sea, the Baltic Sea and the North Atlantic Sea.
Standing NATO Maritime Group One (SNMG1) is one in every of NATO’s standing naval maritime instant response forces. SNMG1 consists of 4 to 6 destroyers and frigates. Its function is to offer NATO with a direct operational response functionality. At the moment, SNMG1 contains German flagship FGS Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Polish Navy ORP Common T. Kosziuszko and French Navy FS Aquitaine. SNMG1 operates below NATO Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM). Headquartered in Northwood, United Kingdom, MARCOM is the central command of all NATO maritime forces and the MARCOM commander is the first maritime adviser to the Alliance. Throughout 2021, SNMG1 was lively within the area of the Baltic Sea for 12 days.
