Sea voyage with psychologist

The crew of the Brandenburg spent 166 days without going ashore during the mission in the Mediterranean. Commander Jan Hackstein gives an insight into how the men and women coped with this strain.

Jan Hackstein

Between the beginning of September 2020 and the end of January 2021, the frigate Brandenburg was part of Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG 2), one of NATO's four standing maritime task forces. The ship was absent from its home port for a total of 166 consecutive days. The mission, framework conditions and nature of the deployment, as well as the effects of the pandemic, made this voyage exceptional.

The main mission during this time was to carry out the "NATO Support Aegean" mission. The NATO organisation, whose flagship was the Brandenburg, has the task of contributing to a complete picture of the situation in the Aegean. The aim is to provide Greek and Turkish authorities and the EU border protection agency Frontex with any information on smuggling activities. This is a political mission that is highly valued by the Federal Chancellery. It is definitely not a classic military mission: the NATO units observe, make their findings available and act impartially. They have no executive powers. The actual work with migrants and smugglers is the responsibility of the coast guards of the two neighbouring countries and Frontex.