Finland Prepares for NOCO14 Drills

The two week long Northern Coast 2014 (NOCO14) exercise, arranged in August and September is the Finnish Navy’s main exercise this year.

The main aim of the Northern Coasts exercise is to improve the multinational interoperability between the participating troops. The shallow and shoaly waters along the Finnish coast offer challenging exercise conditions where naval activity is supported by airborne and special troops.

The fictive exercise scenario is based on a crisis management operation where security threats are presented by terrorism, piracy and smuggling.

Naval units and coastal troops from all Navy brigade-level units participate in the exercise. The national aim of the exercise is to train the naval units in participating in international naval crisis management operations and to train how to receive international support for the national defence. Additionally, the exercise will promote the Uusimaa Brigade Amphibious Task Unit (ATU) in achieving its Nato Response Force, NRF, readiness. Since the ATU has been assigned to the Response Forces Pool from the beginning of next year, the exercise also helps fulfill Finland’s Partnership for Peace commitments.

Finland participates in the NOCO14 exercise with a total of 1500 persons, of which 900 are personnel, about 400 reservists and more than 200 conscripts. In total the exercise will count some 3000 people. The participants represent all the Services of the Defence Forces and the Finnish Border Guard. The exercise will be commanded by the Chief of Staff of the Finnish Navy, Commodore Juha Vauhkonen.

[mappress]