"The purpose of the Joint Protector 2024 exercise is to test the ability of the Joint Expeditionary Force to plan, organize, lead and coordinate a wide range of operations. The plans developed by the member states of the Joint Expeditionary Force allow the political and military leadership of the countries to make quick decisions in order to deter and eliminate the possible threats of hybrid war and conventional war in the region, including in Latvia," said a description from the Latvian Armed Forces.
"The "Joint Protector 2024" exercise is another important step in strengthening the defense capabilities of Latvia and the region and improving cooperation with allies. The exercise demonstrates the commitment and capability of the Joint Response Force to strengthen the security of the Baltic region. They are a proof of the readiness of ten like-minded countries to quickly and unitedly make decisions and react in case of any kind of threat," said the commander of the National Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Leonids Kalniņš.
The creation of the Joint Expeditionary Force was originally a British initiative, the implementation of which was announced at the NATO summit in Wales, when the defense ministers of the member states of the initiative signed a memorandum of intent on the creation of this force.
In September 2014, work was started on the creation of the structure of these forces, the determination of tasks and objectives for the member states, as reported by LSM way back then.
On November 30, 2015, seven countries - Great Britain, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands and Norway - signed the founding agreement on the creation of the Joint Expeditionary Force. Finland and Sweden joined the initiative in 2017, while Iceland joined in April 2021. In 2022 Rīga played host to a high-level meeting of member countries.
More details of the JEF can be found at its rather slick official website: https://jefnations.org/
