One of NATO’s largest medical exercises is about to get under way in Estonia, with some 2,000 participants from 32 allied and partner nations converging on the country between 8 and 20 June to rehearse how the alliance would care for casualties in a major conflict, the Estonian Defence Forces have said.
Running mainly across Harju and Lääne-Viru counties in the north of the country, Vigorous Warrior 2026 is being organised jointly by the Estonian Defence Forces, the NATO Centre of Excellence for Military Medicine and the Estonian Health Board, and it sets out to work through the whole chain of military medical support in a conflict scenario, from the planning stages right through to execution.
According to the organisers, those taking part will practise managing casualties at the point of injury, stabilising and evacuating the wounded, delivering higher-level treatment further back, and keeping up continuity of care as patients are handed between different medical units and between nations, all while the exercise doubles as a chance to try out new technology, push capability development along and tighten the way allied and partner forces work alongside one another.
Brigadier General Dr Jens Diehm, who directs the NATO Centre of Excellence for Military Medicine, described Vigorous Warrior as “the pivotal exercise for the NATO Medical community”.
