JEF deploys its Headquarters to Iceland

The Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) led by the United Kingdom with the Nordic countries, the Baltic countries and the Netherlands will exercise the deployment of its London-based headquarters to Iceland in June.

Iceland joined JEF in April 2021 and this is the first JEF deployment to take place in Iceland. The main purpose of the exercise is to train HQ deployment and demonstrate and project JEF capability, develop an understanding of Iceland and its environment, develop the response options and exercise various hybrid scenarios. Around 250 people will participate in the exercise from JEF headquarters, participant nations and other allied nations. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Defence Division of the Icelandic Coast Guard are responsible for the planning and the host nation's support on behalf of Iceland.

"We have been expanding and deepening collaboration with our neighbouring countries on security and defence, and the JEF cooperation is an integral part of that. In this way, we can better ensure a rapid and flexible response in a potential crisis," says Thórdís Kolbrún Reykfjörd Gylfadóttir, Minister for Foreign Affairs.

JEF is a group of like-minded Northern European countries cooperating on security and defence with a focus on the Arctic, the North Atlantic and the Baltic Sea Region. The JEF combines the strengths of ten nations by planning, training, and operating together continuously, and is intended to support other multinational defence cooperation, including NATO. The participating countries also hold regular and effective security political consultations.