Explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) forces from the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps will participate in Northern Challenge 2024 alongside NATO Allies and partners, Sept. 26 to Oct. 9, 2024.
Northern Challenge in an annual, joint-funded multinational EOD exercise hosted by the Icelandic Coast Guard aimed at preparing NATO Allies and Partnership for Peace participants for international deployments and defense against terrorism. This year’s iteration features over 320 participants from 17 nations, including Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
“No nation can confront today’s challenges alone, which is why every year we welcome countries from across the NATO Alliance to demonstrate our shared values, experience, trust, and vision for a secure and prosperous world,” said Lt. Cmdr. Jónas K. Þorvaldsson, commander, Icelandic Coast Guard EOD.
During the exercise, EOD technicians will respond to simulated improvised explosive devices (IED) threats of increasing complexity over a two-week period headquartered at Keflavík Air Base. Several unique sites have been set up to imitate non-permissive, hostile enemy environments in both land and maritime domains to test each unit’s specialized tactics, techniques and procedures.
“Northern Challenge is the premiere EOD exercise for NATO Allies and partners to plan, conduct and assess realistic training scenarios in a collaborative environment,” said Royal Norwegian Navy Cmdr. Rune Hausken, Northern Challenge 2024 exercise director. “Over the next two weeks of improving our tactical proficiency and exploitation procedures, these EOD forces will stand stronger together in support of a safe, stable, and secure Euro‐Atlantic region.”
In addition to conducting complex training scenarios, EOD technicians from across participating countries will collaborate within multinational command and control and exploitation cells to enhance interoperability at the operational level. These cells will ensure that EOD teams are organized to effectively counter IED threats while ensuring the intelligence analysis and information sharing is in accordance with NATO standards and procedures.
“Navy EOD has exquisite capabilities to operate in all environments to execute the Nation’s tasking and enable the Fleet’s freedom of maneuver, including in Arctic environments,” said Cmdr. John Kennedy, commander, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 8. “Iceland is a perfect setting to exercise our skillsets alongside our NATO Allies and joint services to ensure we are prepared to seamlessly integrate in real-world operations and respond globally to explosive threats.”
U.S. 6th Fleet, headquartered in Naples, Italy, conducts the full spectrum of joint and naval operations, often in concert with allied and interagency partners, in order to advance U.S. national interests, security and stability in Europe and Africa.