Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM) is the central command of all

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

maritime forces and the Commander MARCOM is the prime maritime advisor to the Alliance. When directed by the

Supreme Allied Commander Europe The Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) is the commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Allied Command Operations (ACO) and head of ACO's headquarters, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE). The commander is ...

(SACEUR), it provides the core of the headquarters responsible for the conduct of maritime operations. The command is based at the Northwood Headquarters in northwest London. __TOC__

History

The Commander-in-Chief,

Home Fleet The Home Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy that operated from the United Kingdom's territorial waters from 1902 with intervals until 1967. In 1967, it was merged with the Mediterranean Fleet creating the new Western Fleet. Before the First ...

(

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

), gained a NATO responsibility as Commander-in-Chief Eastern Atlantic Area (CINCEASTLANT), as part of SACLANT, when the NATO military command structure was established in 1953. CINCEASTLANT headquarters was established at the Northwood Headquarters in northwest London. Commander-in-Chief Eastern Atlantic was redesignated as Commander, Allied Maritime Component Command Northwood ('CC-Mar' or AMCCN) around 2004. The command, which was renamed Allied Maritime Command Northwood in 2010, reports to

Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum (JFCBS) is a NATO command with its headquarters at Brunssum, the Netherlands. It was established in 2004 from previous commands as part of NATO's continuing command structure reductions in the face of a then-dim ...

. At the 2010 NATO Summit in Lisbon it was decided to create a leaner and more effective command structure. This reduced the number of major headquarters from 11 to 7 and, in particular, led to the deactivation of the

Allied Maritime Command Naples Allied Maritime Command (MC) Naples (MC Naples) was a subordinate command of Allied Joint Force Command Naples. MC Naples operated from the island of Nisida in the Gulf of Pozzuoli and its commander reported directly to the Commander Allied Joint ...

on 27 March 2013 leaving the newly named MARCOM as the sole maritime component in NATO. MARCOM led Operation Active Endeavour, NATO's only Article-5 operation which ended in 2016. MARCOM also led Operation Ocean Shield, NATO's counter-piracy operation in the

Gulf of Aden The Gulf of Aden ( ar, خليج عدن, so, Gacanka Cadmeed 𐒅𐒖𐒐𐒕𐒌 𐒋𐒖𐒆𐒗𐒒) is a deepwater gulf of the Indian Ocean between Yemen to the north, the Arabian Sea to the east, Djibouti to the west, and the Guardafui Channe ...

and

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by ...

which also ended in 2016. Currently, MARCOM leads

Operation Sea Guardian Operation Sea Guardian is a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) maritime security operation taking place in the Mediterranean Sea. In July 2016, at the Warsaw Summit, NATO announced the transition of the Article 5 counter-terrorism Ope ...

designed as a Maritime Security Operation to provide security in the Mediterranean Sea.

Role

MARCOM was created through the North Atlantic Council to ensure the interoperability of NATO maritime forces, and placed directly under the Supreme Allied Commander Europe to be the leading voice on maritime issues within the Alliance. It is responsible for planning and conducting all NATO maritime operations.

Current Structure

Standing Maritime Groups

MARCOM leads four standing NATO maritime groups, two frigate groups and two mine countermeasures groups. The Standing NATO Maritime Groups are a multinational, integrated maritime force made up of vessels from allied countries. The ships and any aircraft aboard are available to NATO to support Alliance tasking. These groups provide NATO with a continuous maritime capability. The command is also responsible for additional naval assets as they support NATO missions. Current groups are: * 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).

References

External links

* Formations of the NATO Military Command Structure 1994–present Buildings and structures in Three Rivers District Naval units and formations Military units and formations established in 2012 Military units and formations in Hertfordshire Organisations based in Hertfordshire {{europe-mil-stub