Poland to take charge of NATO high readiness force

By Busra Nur Bilgic Cakmak

ANKARA (AA) - The Polish army will take charge of the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF) of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), said the organization in a statement on Monday.

Poland will take over the duty from Germany on Jan.1, 2020 and will hand over to Turkey in 2021.

Jens Stoltenberg, NATO's secretary general, also thanked Poland for leading the force in the statement.

“The Very High Readiness Joint Task Force, our Spearhead Force, is a substantial contribution to our collective defense and a strong display of Poland’s capabilities,” he added.

According to the statement, around 6,000 soldiers, 3,000 from Poland, will serve on the Spearhead Force.

“Units from Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Latvia, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Slovakia, Turkey, and the United Kingdom will also serve on the force. The United States stands ready to support the VJTF with airpower and other combat support,” it added.

VJTF established in 2014 Wales Summit as a response to Russia’s illegal annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea and turmoil in the Middle East.

It is the part of NATO Response Force made up of land, air, maritime and special forces.