Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe - Structure Today

Structure Today

Today Allied Command Operations (ACO), is one of the two supreme commands of NATO (the other being Allied Command Transformation, ACT).

There are three main headquarters under Allied Command Operations:

• Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum, Netherlands
• Allied Joint Force Command Naples, Italy
• Allied Joint Command Lisbon, Portugal

Between 2003 and 2006, a new category of forces, the NATO Force Structure, was created, principally to improve the flexibility and reach of land forces. The structure incorporates six "NATO Rapid Deployable Corps headquarters," and two lower readiness land headquarters. Three naval headquarters are also part of this structure, with two other naval headquarters, contributed by France and the USA, also affiliated. Formed from October 2003, the NATO Rapidly Deployable Corps are designated High Readiness Forces (HRF), designed to be able to react on short notice. Although these forces can not deploy on five days warning like the NATO Response Force (NRF), they have a longer than 30 days sustainment capability in combat than the NRF.

• Headquarters Allied Rapid Reaction Corps, based at Imjin Barracks, Innsworth, Gloucester, England which is rapidly deployable within five days, but lacks sustained capability, limited to 30 days in combat. It would serve as an advance force for follow on NATO forces.
• I. German/Dutch Corps based in Münster, Germany
• NATO Rapid Deployable Italian Corps, Ugo Mara Barracks HQ in Solbiate Olona near Milan, Italy
• NATO Rapid Deployable Turkish Corps, HQ near Istanbul, Turkey (NRDC-T 'NATO Rapid Deployable Corps - Turkey')
• NATO Rapid Deployable Corps - Spain in Valencia, Spain
• NATO Rapid Deployable Corps - Greece based on the "C" Corps HQ in Thessaloniki, Greece (now redesignated as a Force of Lower Readiness (FLR))

The Multinational Corps Northeast (MNC NE) headquartered in Szczecin, Poland, is seen along with the downgraded Greek NRD, as the third echelon deployable force in the NATO rapid deployment capability. The Eurocorps HQ, in Strasbourg, France, is nominally an EU force with a technical agreement linking it to NATO.

Certification of the following High Readiness Forces (Maritime) Headquarters took place in 2004:

• Headquarters Commander Italian Maritime Forces on board Italy’s INS Garibaldi;
• Headquarters Commander Spanish Maritime Forces (HQ COMSPMARFOR) on board SPS Castilla;
• Headquarters Commander United Kingdom Maritime Forces (HQ COMUKMARFOR)

Naval Striking and Support Force NATO (STRIKFORNATO), homeported at Gaeta, Italy, whose lead nation is the USA, is commanded by Commander United States Sixth Fleet, and is also part of the NATO Force Structure. STRIKFORNATO is the only command capable of leading an expanded maritime task force. The final formation is Commander French Maritime Forces, initially aboard the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle but now aboard the amphibious ship Mistral. The French naval component is drawn from the Force d'Action Navale, the French Navy's surface fleet.

Island Commander, Iceland, remains in existence as a detachment of HQ ACO, as does Allied Submarine Command, a NATO command based on the United States Navy's ComSubLant. A special operations coordination centre and an intelligence fusion centre have also recently been formed within SHAPE.

As more capable rapid reaction forces were established, earlier 'fire brigades,' including the Allied Command Europe (ACE) Mobile Force - Land (AMF(L), were disbanded; AMF(L) was disbanded on 30 or 31 October 2002.

In addition to this Allied Command Operations has at its disposal standing forces such as:

• NATO Airborne Early Warning Force (NAEWF)
• Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1)
• Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2)
• Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 1 (SNMCMG1)
• Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 2 (SNMCMG2)

Airlift support for SACEUR's travels is provided by the USAF's 309th Airlift Squadron at Chièvres Air Base, Belgium.