Allied Command Operations

Allied Command Operations (ACO) is one of the two strategic commands of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the other being Allied Command Transformation (ACT). The headquarters and commander of ACO is Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) and Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), respectively.

SHAPE

JFCBS

JFCNP

AIRCOM

LAND-
COM

MARCOM

STRIKFORNATO

HQ SACT

JFC NF

JWC

JFTC

JALLC

School

 JSEC

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Locations of NATO's two strategic commands—Allied Command Transformation (ACT; yellow marks) and Allied Command Operations (ACO; red marks)—the latter of which has Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) as its headquarters. The subordinate centres of ACT and subordinate commands and joint force commands of ACO are also shown.

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Structure

An overview of NATO military command structure (NCS):

Liaison:       Provides advice and support to the NAC

Political strategic level:

North Atlantic Council

Secretary General of NATO Brussels, BE

International Staff Brussels, BE

Military strategic level:

Chair of the NATO Military Committee International Military Staff NATO HQ, Brussels, BE

Strategic commands:

SACEUR (ACO, SHAPE) Mons, BE

SACT (Allied Command Transformation, HQ SACT) Norfolk, US

Tactical commands:

Transformational commands:

Allied Air Command Ramstein, DE

Joint Warfare Centre Stavanger, NO

Allied Maritime Command Northwood, GB

Joint Analysis and Lessons Learned Centre Lisbon, PT

Allied Land Command İzmir, TR

Joint Force Training Centre Bydgoszcz, PL

Misc.:

Joint Support and Enabling Command Ulm, DE

Operational commands:

Communications & Information Systems Group Mons, BE

Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO Oeiras, PT

Joint Force Command Norfolk Norfolk, US

Allied Joint Force Command Naples Naples, IT

Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum Brunssum, NL

Response Force:

Multinational Corps Southeast Sibiu, RO

Multinational Corps Northeast Szczecin, PL

Under ACO, there are three Strategic Level Commands and three tactical level commands:^[1]

Strategic Level Commands:

• Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum (JFCBS), Netherlands
• Allied Joint Force Command Naples (JFCNP), Italy
• Joint Force Command Norfolk (JFC-NF), United States

Tactical Level commands:

• Allied Air Command (AIRCOM) at Ramstein, Germany
• Allied Land Command (LANDCOM) at Izmir, Turkey
• Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM) at Northwood, United Kingdom

Other commands:

• Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO (aka. Strike Force NATO, STRIKFORNATO) at Oeiras, Portugal
• NATO Communication and Information Systems Command (NCISG) at Mons, Belgium
• Joint Support and Enabling Command in Ulm, Germany

Joint Force Command Norfolk

See also: U.S. Second Fleet

Joint Force Command Norfolk (JFCNF) provides a critical capability to Supreme Allied Commander Europe’s (SACEUR) operational responsibilities. JFCNF was established out of the allied assessment of a changing security environment that emphasizes the trans-Atlantic as a critical domain. As an organization governed by an international memorandum of understanding (MoU), the command provides the capability to act early in a crisis to ensure a joint deterrent response and improve the responsiveness of NATO within that trans-Atlantic domain.^[2]

JFCNF works seamlessly with allies and NATO partners in all domains and to provide awareness and synchronization with allies, while ensuring readiness and contributing to NATO objectives and core tasks. The NATO functions of JFCNF are related to the transition from a crisis to a high-intensity conflict. In this role, the command will contribute to enhance NATO’s warfighting capability.^[3]

Established in 2018, the first JFCNF commander was Vice Admiral Andrew L. Lewis, USN who also commanded the recently re-established United States Second Fleet, also headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia.^[4][5] As of 2021, the JFCNF and 2nd Fleet commander is Vice Admiral Daniel W. Dwyer, USN.

Joint Support Enabling Command

SACEUR also has operational command of the Joint Support and Enabling Command.^[6]

See also

• Allied Command Transformation
• Operational headquarters of the European Union
• Berlin Plus agreement

References

1. "Military Command Structure". NATO. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
2. "Joint Force Command Norfolk Conducts Trans-Atlantic Security Seminar". Joint Force Command Norfolk Public Affairs. 2019-01-15.
3. "Joint Force Command Norfolk Conducts Trans-Atlantic Security Seminar". Joint Force Command Norfolk Public Affairs. 2019-01-15.
4. Babb, Carla (2018-08-06). "US Navy's Top Admiral Cites Increased Threat in Ocean Nearest Washington". voanews.com. Retrieved 2018-08-12.
5. LaGrone, Sam (2018-11-29). "U.S. 2nd Fleet Racing Toward a 2019 Operational Capability". USNI News. Retrieved 2018-12-01.
6. Boeke, Sergei (13 January 2020). "Creating a secure and functional rear area : NATO's new JSEC Headquarters". nato.int. NATO. Retrieved 9 October 2020. JSEC is part of the NATO Force Structure and under the operational command of the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR).

External links

• Official website