New NATO Command Structure

[ORAC]

Ares: NATO Cuts More Fat (http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/blogs/defense/index.jsp?plckController=Blog&plckBlogPage=BlogViewPost&newspaperUserId=27ec4a53-dcc8-42d0-bd3a-01329aef79a7&plckPostId=Blog%3a27ec4a53-dcc8-42d0-bd3a-01329aef79a7Post%3a4b17eb48-40b4-460c-a6bb-01d877f22f62&plckScript=blogScript&plckElementId=blogDest)

At the end of the two-day defense ministers meeting, NATO revealed plans for a new defense structure which will reduce personnel by 30 percent and save tens of millions of dollars over the next few years. Belgian air force Brig. Gen. Patrick Wouters, deputy director of the plans and policy division of NATO’s International Military Staff, said the new command structure would be leaner, more efficient, more deployable and affordable, and adapted to the new strategic concept adopted by NATO leaders at their Lisbon summit last November. The new structure will reduce personnel by 8,000 from the current 30,000, cut four headquarters and three command elements.

The two NATO strategic commands -- Allied Command Transformation (ACT) in Norfolk, Virginia; and Allied Command Operations, more commonly known as Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), in Mons, Belgium -- will remain in place. The two joint force commands in Brunssum, the Netherlands, and Naples, Italy, will be converted into larger joint force headquarters able to deploy 500 of their 850 personnel. These new headquarters will take back the regional focus they lost during the last NATO command restructuring. ACT, SHAPE and the two new joint force headquarters will take on new tasks outlined in NATO’s new strategic concept.

The land, air and maritime component commands will be reduced from two each to one each. The land component commands in Madrid and Heidelberg will be closed and replaced by one in Izmir, Turkey, grouping together land components available in NATO, providing command and control of land operations, and conducting multi-corps operations.

Izmir will lose its current air component command, while the one in Ramstein, Germany, will take on new tasks like missile defense. Wouters said the air component command in Ramstein would be better adapted to use NATO’s joint air component air command concept and would easily be able to revert to a wartime structure such as the one presently being used for air operations against Libya.

NATO’s Coalition Air Operation Centers (CAOCs) will be reduced from four to two, with the others adopting a national or multinational character. The four current CAOCs are in Larissa, Greece, Finderup, Denmark, Poggio Renatico, Italy, and Uedem, Germany. The latter two will continue as part of the new NATO command structure and remain static, providing air policing and air command like Poggio Renatico is currently doing over Libya.

In addition, a new deployable air command and control center detached from the CAOCs will also have air command functions. The deployable air control system, recognized air picture production center, and sensor fusion post (DARS) in Nieuw Milligen will be combined with a new deployable air operations center in Poggio Renatico providing air command and real time control of fighters like that being provided over Libya.

The maritime component command in Naples will be closed, leaving the one in Northwood focusing on maritime surveillance.

The new Command and Information (C&I) Agency will combine the NATO Consultation, Command and Control Agency (NC3A), parts of the NATO Communication and Information Systems Agency (NCSA), and NATO Air Command and Control System Management Agency (NACMA). The NCSA’s 18 deployable communication modules (signals companies) totalling 1,300 personnel will be transferred to SHAPE.

[Pontius Navigator]

The maritime component command in Naples will be closed, leaving the one in Northwood focusing on maritime surveillance.

Nice one.

Now remind me, who has more maritime air surveillance assets.

[Whenurhappy]

Hmmm, loss of Nisida (JFC Naples CC Mar) will have a grave impact on RN personnel deploying their vessels (yachts and launches) towards Ischia, Procida and Capri. Impact on Alliance matime operations. Massive improvement, I'd expect.

[Lonewolf_50]

I applaud the reduction in staff, but at first blush it is odd to put the Maritine HQ in a region that isn't "in theater."

I suspect the reason for the move is very political. Who has how many HQ's and how many stars? That's a running battle.

The Italians keep the old AFSOUTH HQ (Now that Joint Force HQ) and the Brits keep a Maritime HQ. Sharing the costs and benefits, as it were.

Interesting to see the Land HQ only going to Turkey. That HQ in Spain is pretty new, too bad they lost it so soon.


C'est la OTAN, amigos. :cool:

[NapoleonComplex]

The fellow who was crazy about the RAF Snowdrops.

I have a new Air oriented other rank structure for the RAF to get rid of Army and Navy style titles.

RAF GENERAL

GROUND AIRMAN OR 1-2
LEADER AIRMAN OR 3
CHARGE AIRMAN OR 4
MASTER AIRMAN 0R 5
FLIGHT MASTER AIRMAN 06
WARRANT OFFICER

RAF REGIMENT

GROUND GUNNER
LEADER GUNNER
CHARGE GUNNER
MASTER GUNNER
FLIGHT MASTER GUNNER
WARRANT OFFICER

[NapoleonComplex]

This present coalition government and its successor are both the only governments in centuries to actually reduce the size of the Armed Forces in wartime. Civil servants get paid bonuses for making savings, so they axe thousands of servicemen just to get thousands in bonus payments in so called efficiencies. Giving 1 trillion 3.5 billion $ to a handful of bamkers to salt away with their own stached away loot as only added to causing problems for all other occupations and professions. The we are all in it together phrasiology of Cameron the former TV Public Relations Executive and Old Etonian, The world must kiss my feet, lets spend 3 years thrashing flats and making a nuisance of ourselves, Prime Ministr nobody elected but was self appointed bastard is all false. Bankers, captains of Industry, Politicians are all making even more money whilst the rest of us endure pay freezes. The very rich have increased their wealth by 60% in just two years. All this in a so called recesion. There is no recession it is just a deliberately created myth to reduce incomes whilst boosting profits.
Sadly, we are to mamby pambied nowadays to do what our ancestors once did and start civil wars, revolts and rebellions to eradicate corruption at least in the short term. So reducing the Armed Forces to a level of abject ill effectiveness will help the bank balences of politicians but will open the door for our potential and actual enemies to exploit.

[skippedonce]

Not reported in the first post, but the big 'winner' of the NATO Eurovision Contest seems to be that military big-hitter Portugal, receiving 2 new NATO entities to go with the JALLC which is already located there. At least the weather is good for golf!:E

[Jabba_TG12]

Had smelled this one coming for a while. Particularly when you add in the reduction of sub-agencies from 14 to 3, theres going to be quite a lot of blood-letting.

As for the concept of the 2 CAOC structure plus the DCAOC + DARS... ACCS isnt quite finished yet, although the end is supposed to be in sight, when the deliverables will actually be delivered... Theyve got to successfully transition the thing into operational use yet. And, thats far from a forgone conclusion as to how much longer that will take to accomplish, when you factor in the inter-agency upheaval and a prime contractor who make BAe look like goody-two-shoes schoolgirls.

Nice idea, but quite a few years away from being successfully implemented just get. Wouldnt expect to see this particular structure becoming the norm for a minimum of another 5 years yet.

All that because of mid-short term financial panic, self serving upper echelons and political interference from certain parties who really ought to know better.

And on that score, we Brits have not exactly covered ourselves in glory.

[Grumpy106]

Have I missed something here, but have we finally handed over Command and Control of UK Airspace to the Germans, in the form of the CAOC at Uedem? Giving it to the Danes in Finderup was bad enough, but Germany!!! Dowding will be spinning in his grave!!