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Lieutenant General Rune Jakobsen

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Lieutenant General Rune Jakobsen Q A LIEUTENANT GENERAL RUNE JAKOBSEN Norwegian Army Lieutenant General Rune Jakobsen, Commander of the Norwegian Joint Headquarters in Bodø since 4 September 2015, started his military career in 1980 and has filled several key positions in the Norwegian Armed Forces, including Commanding Officer for the Telemark Battalion, National Contingent Commander in Afghanistan, and Chief of Staff in the Norwegian Defence Staff. Here, he talks about military modernization, TRIDENT JUNCTURE 2018 and the relationship with the Joint Warfare Centre. Inci Kucukaksoy, Joint Warfare Centre Public Affairs Office General, thank you very much for agreeing Defence (CHOD) and decided by the Govern- to this interview. Let's start with your role as ment and published in a long-term plan every Commander Norwegian Joint Headquarters. four years. We are now two years into the exist- What are your current priorities? ing long-term plan, which increases the 2015 - My pleasure! As the Norwegian Joint Force budget by more than NOK 180 billion over 20 Headquarters Commander, I retain the opera- years. The most important projects are the new tional command (OPCOM) over the Norwe- procurements of 48+4 F35s, five P-8A Posei- gian Armed Forces (NJHQ) in times of peace, don Maritime Patrol Aircrafts, four new sub- crisis and war. My main tasks are: the national marines, ground-based air defence (GBAD) ABOVE: Lieutenant General Jakobsen at joint defence planning; preventing and han- systems, and new field artillery guns for the Joint Warfare Centre during Exercise TRIDENT dling crisis within the NJHQ area of respon- Army. Similarly, improving combat readiness JAVELIN 2017. Photo by JWC PAO sibility (AOR); planning and conducting joint in close coordination with the service chiefs as exercises; planning for, deploying, and sup- tactical commanders is an ongoing priority. porting all Norwegian soldiers abroad in inter- “Exercise TRIDENT national operations (INTOPS) and supporting Can you elaborate on the Norwegian Joint the civilian society. My priorities are, firstly, to Headquarters' relationship to the Joint War- JUNCTURE 2018 always have situational understanding in our fare Centre (JWC)? What is the value of this exceeded my AOR as the foundation of all running opera- relationship for you? tions, both home and abroad. Second, I have - Since NJHQ was established in 2010, the expectations to make sure that Norwegian military readi- Joint Warfare Centre has been an important in all areas.” ness is optimal at all times, and that military partner to our headquarters. Over the years, pre sence in the High North is adequate. we have established a close and mutual rela- Lieutenant General tionship, where cooperation in planning and Rune Jakobsen How do you preserve modernization and conducting of joint exercises is the corner- readiness of the Norwegian Armed Forces? stone. Exercises TRIDENT JAVELIN 2017 and Can you please outline some of your projects? TRIDENT JUNCTURE 2018 are good exam- - The modernization of the Norwegian Armed ples of this. To me, the Joint Warfare Centre Forces is based on operational requirements is a "centre of excellence" in the area of joint identified by the NJHQ, staffed by the Chief of operational-level of warfare, and I hope that 38 The Three Swords Magazine 34/2019 ►►► INTERVIEWS NJHQ can improve our staff processes even further by maintaining our close cooperation with the JWC. What are your thoughts on having hosted NATO's most important military exercise in Norway since the end of the Cold War? - TRIDENT JUNCTURE 2018 was indeed a great exercise for both NATO and Norway. For us the exercise was important in order to test our national ability to receive NATO rein- forcements on a large scale. It was a test of our real defence plans, as well as a testing ground for the newly developed Host Nation Support Concept. In addition, it was an important de- velopment tool for the finalization of our To- tal Defence Concept. The exercise exceeded my expectations in all areas. Moreover, the close cooperation with Joint Force Command Naples was outstanding, and the Joint Warfare Centre's ability to facilitate national Training Objectives in the Command Post Exercise (CPX) was highly appreciated. What have been some of the highlights from TRIDENT JUNCTURE 2018? - The highlights are many, but I would say working with so many competent headquar- ABOVE: His Majesty King Harald of Norway paying a visit to Værnes Air Station during TRIDENT JUNCTURE 2018. ters, units, and Allied military personnel. The Photo by Kristian Kapelrud, Forsvaret complexity of the Host Nation Support opera- tion was fascinating, and Distinguished Visi- and low deterrence effect. In this context, the threats challenge our ability to react timely. tor's Day, or the DV day, was a serious show of TRIDENT JUNCTURE 2018 exercise was im- Legislation has to be adapted to reflect the force by NATO. portant in that it showed NATO's strong deter- new threats. Society and modern living have mination and ability to react adequately to a become more complex and has made us more The importance of readiness for Allied forces major security crisis. vulnerable. In my opinion, we are less alert keeps coming up. What are your thoughts on and robust to face this new reality compared the value of deterrence training at the opera- With a collective defence focus and Article 5 to what we were during the Cold War. In other tional level? scenarios, exercises are now more complex, words, you can say that we have to adjust our - Deterrence is a key issue in Norway's secu- addressing many aspects of warfare including mindset to a new reality. The Norwegian take rity. Deterrence is achieved through having a hybrid threats and information warfare. What to this is through the modernization of our credible national defence structure and cred- is your take on these challenges? Total Defence Concept. I strongly believe that ible NATO reinforcement plans. In order for - Major Joint Operations are nothing new, but Norway, as a Nation, has already taken steps to structures and plans to have a credible effect, it has been a while since these were exercised become more robust and resilient to face the they must be incorporated into exercises and on a large scale. Following many years of do- new reality. training regularly. In today's security envi- ing counterinsurgency (COIN) in the context ronment, a crisis can occur within hours and of out-of-area operations, I think we now have What is next in terms of acquiring Norway's days. Decisions and units' response times to switch focus to exercises such as TRIDENT future warfighting capabilities? must therefore be quick. Otherwise, we will JUNCTURE 2018 for the years to come. The - Our politicians make this decision, but I have fait accompli situations that cannot be borders between peace, crisis and war have strongly hope the Government will stand firm reversed. For NATO Alliance, it is absolutely become blurred. That being said, I don't think by their 2% of GDP commitment from Wales. imperative to show determination and abil- these changes have led to more complex mili- A balanced force structure with a modernized ity to deploy in a collective defence setting. If tary operations, but it has definitely made it and strong Army, a more capable Navy, and this is not trained and exercised in Major Joint more difficult to achieve timely decisions, es- more robust air defence systems are high on Operations, you will have slow reaction time pecially political decisions. The new hybrid my wish list. The Three Swords Magazine 34/2019 39 .
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