The Allied Command Operations (ACO) is one of the two strategic commands of the

North Atlantic Treaty Organization The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental transnational military alliance of 32 member states—30 European and 2 North American. Established in the aftermat ...

(NATO), the other being

Allied Command Transformation Allied Command Transformation (ACT; French language, French: ''Commandement allié Transformation'') is a military command (military formation), command of the NATO, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), formed in 2003 after restructuring. ...

(ACT). The headquarters and commander of ACO is

Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe The Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) is the military headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Allied Command Operations (ACO) that commands all NATO operations worldwide. SHAPE is situated in the villag ...

(SHAPE) and Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), respectively.

Structure

Under ACO, there are three Strategic Level Commands and three tactical level commands: Strategic Level Commands: * Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum (JFCBS),

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

* Allied Joint Force Command Naples (JFCNP),

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

* Joint Force Command Norfolk (JFC-NF),

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Tactical Level commands: *

Allied Air Command The Allied Air Command (AIRCOM) is the Staff (military), central command of all NATO air force, air and space forces and the Commander Allied Air Command is the prime air and space advisor to the Alliance. When directed by the Supreme Allied Com ...

(AIRCOM) at Ramstein,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

* Allied Land Command (LANDCOM) at Izmir,

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

* Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM) at Northwood,

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Other commands: * Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO (aka. Strike Force NATO, STRIKFORNATO) at Oeiras,

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

* NATO Communication and Information Systems Command (NCISG) at Mons,

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

* Joint Support and Enabling Command in Ulm,

Joint Force Command Norfolk

Joint Force Command Norfolk (JFCNF) was established after allied re-assessment of the security environment which emphasizes the importance of the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

and its

sea lines of communication Sea lines of communication (abbreviated as SLOC) is a term describing the primary maritime routes between ports, used for trade, logistics and naval forces. It is generally used in reference to naval operations to ensure that SLOCs are open, or ...

to Europe. 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. 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. 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 The United States Second Fleet is a numbered fleet in the United States Navy responsible for operations in the East Coast and North Atlantic Ocean. Established after World War II, Second Fleet was deactivated in 2011, when the United States gov ...

, also headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia. 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.

References

External links

*{{Official, https://www.nato.int/cps/ua/natohq/topics_52091.htm Formations of the NATO Military Command Structure 1994–present Military units and formations established in 2003

Structure

Joint Force Command Norfolk

Joint Support Enabling Command

See also

References

External links