Cooperative Zenith
The aim of Cooperative Zenith is to demonstrate to Partnership for Peace [PfP] nations the need for interoperability in the area of search and rescue, which includes survival skills.
Some 20 Partnership for Peace members took part in Cooperative Zenith 1996, May 7-16. Cooperative Zenith includes 53 participants from 20 PfP nations: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. It also involves 18 NATO officers from Canada, the Netherlands, and United States, and 100 Air Force people from Patrick and Langley AFB, Va. The first phase of the four-part exercise a symposium on SAR procedures, equipment and training of the NATO and PfP nations. Phase two is a cultural exchange program designed to improve mutual understanding and communication within the PfP framework. Command Post training in phase three involves practicing SAR concepts and procedures, and the planning of a short-notice SAR mission using a multi-national team. The exercise ends with a field SAR operation.
More than 600 service members from five NATO nations and 13 Partnership For Peace countries gathered to participate in Cooperative Zenith 1998. The exercise provided NATO and PFP nations an opportunity to freely exchange ideas, methods and techniques used in close air support, forward air control and search and rescue, which could save lives in a multi-national military environment. A recurring exercise, Cooperative Zenith helps former Soviet-bloc and Warsaw Pact militaries understand and improve interoperability with their NATO counterparts. It was the second Cooperative Zenith held on U.S. soil, but the first Cooperative Zenith close air support/forward air control exercise. Previous Cooperative Zeniths focused on search and rescue operations. Countries sending participants include Albania, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, Macedonia, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.
Canada hosted NATO's Partnership for Peace (PfP) EXERCISE COOPERATIVE ZENITH 99 (EX CZ 99), a multinational Search and Rescue (SAR) Exercise which will be held at the Canadian Coast Guard College in Sydney and 14 Wing Greenwood, Nova Scotia, from 5-16 October 1999. EX CZ 99 is an important part of NATO's PfP program and is conducted under the authority of US Navy Admiral Harold W. Gehman Jr., NATO's Supreme Allied Commander, Atlantic (SACLANT), to promote confidence, cooperation and understanding between Partner and NATO nations working toward interoperability in Search and Rescue (SAR) operations in relation to Peacekeeping and Humanitarian Operations. On a daily basis, the exercise involved approximately 30 officers from PfP nations, Albania, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Ukraine. Approximately 50 officers from 2 NATO nations, Canada and the United States, 50 members of 413 Transport and Rescue Squadron, 25 members of the United States Coast Guard and 15 members of the Civil Air Search and Rescue Association (CASARA) were also involved at some point in the exercise. The exercise was conducted in four phases: Phase 1 is a symposium in which participants will focus on SAR procedures, techniques, equipment and training. Phase 2 will consist of a cultural exchange program which is intended to improve mutual understanding and communication within the PfP framework. Phase 3 is a command post exercise designed to illustrate and practice SAR planning and problem solving. Finally, phase 4 consisted of a field training exercise to give participants an opportunity to view previously presented material, equipment, and procedures in action.
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