NATO Response Force
From January to July 2005, the Corps assumed the standby role as the NATO Response Force Land Component Command to demonstrate the NATO Initial Operational Capability. During the months of May and June 2005, 1(GE/NL) Corps practiced this capability by conducting exercise IRON SWORD, a challenging Deployment Field Training Exercise to practice multinational operations in an expeditionary environment. In deploying more than 6,000 soldiers and 2,500 vehicles by land, air and sea from Central Europe to Norway, the Corps clearly illustrated the progress made during the NATO Response Force standby period and made a real contribution towards the continual development of the NATO Response Force Full Operational Capability.