Atomic Energy Act of 1946 - NATO's Military Command Structure

NATO's Military Command Structure

The stipulations contained in the Act have caused significant controversy during debates over NATO's military command structure. Both Striking Fleet Atlantic and the United States Sixth Fleet have never been allowed to be placed anywhere but directly under American commanding officers — the Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic and Commander-in-Chief, Allied Forces Southern Europe, because the dominant legal interpretation of the McMahon Act has been that nuclear striking forces cannot be controlled by non-US commanders. This was the reason for the formation of Striking Fleet Atlantic as an independent entity, instead of being operationally subordinated to the UK Admiral serving as Commander-in-Chief, Eastern Atlantic, in October–November 1952. This was also the reason why the Sixth Fleet, in its NATO guise as Naval Striking and Support Force, South, was placed under American control rather than Allied Forces Mediterranean when the European commands were agreed at the same time. The Act was also probably a factor in the American refusal to allow a French officer to take command of Allied Forces Southern Europe in 1997.