And Nato is conducting exercises - and slowly building up a "Very High Readiness Joint Task Force".
It was enhanced last year when a "Spearhead Force" – also known as a "Very High Readiness Joint Task Force" – was created.
Each year, the new "very high readiness" force will be led by a Nato state, which will also provide the majority of the 5,000 troops.
Now it's our intention to develop what I would call a spearhead within that response force at very, very high readiness.
We will develop what I would call a spearhead within our response force – a very high readiness force able to deploy at very short notice.
To support current operations, the army has cut back training and lowered readiness; instead of having roughly a brigade at high readiness to deal with a crisis, sources say, there is "less than a battle-group" (a 1,500-strong 1,500-strongithdrawing formation will relieve some of the strain.Withdrawing
He said Nato was pushing ahead with plans for a very high readiness joint taskforce, "in order to convince Russia, or any other state adversary, that any attack on one Nato member will inevitably lead them into a conflict with the whole alliance".
"If you are working in a job that is not at high readiness in an operational unit, there is no reason that you shouldn't perhaps be able to parade a bit later in the morning so that your children will be able to be dropped at school," General Carter said earlier this year.
This is in contrast to the few hours duration of the first publicly acknowledged raid on October 19th.On October 26th, the British government announced that 200 of its commandos were "immediately available" for action, and 400 more were put on a state of "high readiness" to join their American comrades in possible ground operations in Afghanistan.
