INTEGRATING FORCES Colonel Mart Vendla

Naval Maritime Group / Maritime Mine Countermeasure Group, SNMG/MCMG – permanent naval rapid response and mine countermeasure groups on the Baltic and North Sea) and in the air (Enhanced Air Policing or eAP – strengthened air policing over in Estonia, Lithuania, and Poland).

Following the swift changes, long-term issues were also addressed, including the re-organization of the NATO Response Force (NRF), the refinement of regional plans, the further development of an infrastructure to support deployment, and the enhancement of regional structures. The role of Multinational Corps North-East was redefined and the headquarters of South, Northeast, and North Division were established in cooperation with the framework nations. Needless to say, there was also a need for a new perspective for regional exercises.

The network of NFIUs (in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria) was tasked to become an outpost of the NATO command structure and facilitate information exchange between NATO’s command and force structures and the host nation. The main purpose is to support situational awareness, planning, deployment and operation of the NATO Response Force from peace and deterrence through crisis to conflict.

As NFIU is not part of the NATO Command Structure (which is funded from the NATO Common Budget) but a NATO Force Structure, the armed forces of the host country are responsible for the infrastructure and technical equipment and support.

NFIU Estonia has a combined staff of about 40 members supporting NATO’s structures in place, possessing the competence of the combined services in land, naval, air, and special forces.

NFIU Estonia has a combined staff of about 40 members supporting NATO’s structures in place, possessing the competence of the combined services in land, naval, air, and special forces. In order to complement and implement the comprehensive approach to security and defence, the staff comprises specialists coordinating the civilian-military cooperation, host nation support and strategic communications.

About half of the NFIU positions are manned by representatives from the host country, while the remainder of the staff are comprised of servicemen and wo

men from 11 NATO member states. It comes without saying that the working language is English, placing high demands on language proficiency.

The focus of NFIU activities is on creating and maintaining situational awareness and understanding. NFIU provides an overview of the situation in the Estonian Defence Forces (and more widely in Estonia) and transfers critical information requirements between the Estonian Defence Forces and NATO’s operational structures.

NFIU is subordinated to the Multinational Corps North-East (MNC-NE) in Szczecin, Poland, with various issues discussed at the component command level, although the joint nature of the unit means a major role for Joint Force Command Brunssum (JFCBS) in the Netherlands, which oversees Northern, Central, and North-eastern Europe.

NFIU has access to NATO’s “weapon systems” – the functional area systems (FAS) that provide awareness and oversight from various areas (intelligence, missions, planning, logistics, etc.), ranging from tactical to strategic levels.

NFIU is linked with the battle rhythm of the Multinational Corps North-East and Joint Force Command Brunssum, attending the working group and key leader engagement events in person or via secure video teleconferences (VTC). Needless to say, access to the NATO and HN staff and the leadership is a prerequisite for success. Visibility and understanding of the intent and activities of both sides facilitate better coordination and supports NATO’s response to the emerging security situation.

As alluded to earlier, the success of the NFIU largely depends on the cooperative spirit of the host nation. Estonia, with its open society and governance, provides a good foundation for interaction with government agencies. NFIU is located next to the Headquarters of the Estonian Defence Forces, which helps to bolster the relationships and trust between the functional area specialists and the leadership, ensuring the mutual understanding and support for critical information requirements.

Interoperability is facilitated by the day-to-day interaction with the infrastructure of the Headquarters of the Estonian Defence Forces and the Enhanced Forward Presence United Kingdom’s Task Force (eFP UK TF), strengthening contacts and situational awareness between the parties. 2019 was successful and, in addition to the support of regular training and planning events, NFIU Estonia was certified during a detailed two-phase evaluation process. The unit demonstrated all of the critical capabilities necessary to maintain combat-ready status. Also, 2020 will certainly be a busy year and, among other things, we will celebrate our fifth anniversary.