This work, Sunset veteran march honors past, present, by Sandra Wilson, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright (Photo by Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP via Getty Images) The question of which Joint Force Command the two newest members fall under is dividing experts Link copiedby Dan Baer and Sophia BeschPublished on May 28, 2024blog EmissaryEmissary harnesses Carnegie’s global scholarship to deliver incisive nuanced analysis on the most pressing international affairs challenges The Europe Program in Washington explores the political and security developments within Europe Working in coordination with Carnegie Europe in Brussels and European policymakers and experts on strategic issues facing Europe The Baltic Sea Region is a key pillar in Europe’s emerging security architecture The potential for cooperation and innovation is substantial This project examines the region’s approach to a broad array of security challenges from maritime security to defense industrial cooperation The accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO has raised the question about how the organization will integrate its two newest members into its command structures. Specifically, how will the two Nordic states fit into the alliance’s Joint Force Commands And why are experts splitting hairs about which JFC is best suited to assume responsibility for Sweden and Finland The JFCs make up the operational level of NATO’s command structure and sustain NATO operations in its geographic areas of responsibility By nature of its location and comparative capability advantages JFC Brunssum in the Netherlands is responsible for supporting NATO’s operations on the eastern flank JFC Norfolk in the United States is focused on the protection of the Arctic and transatlantic neighborhood focusing largely on maritime forces. Finland and Sweden are both Arctic and Baltic Sea states so either JFC NorfolkorJFC Brunssum could logically be responsible for implementing NATO’s plans to address each country’s defense JFC Brunssum is responsible for implementing NATO operations plans that address the defense of Finland and Sweden But this stretches Brunssum’s capacity very thin many assume that Finland and Sweden (and the rest of Scandinavia) will eventually fall under JFC Norfolk’s purview keeping NATO’s Nordic allies all under the same command makes sense because these countries already have close defense ties since the remaining Baltic Sea states fall under Brunssum this would divide the operational-level planning in the region between two JFCs which could create command-and-control coordination challenges NATO is now in the process of updating its command structures at the behest of the Supreme Allied Commander Europe General Christiopher Cavoli A final decision on the JFC question will likely be announced at NATO’s Washington summit in July Understand the world with the latest from our scholars around the world Emissary harnesses Carnegie’s global scholarship to deliver incisive president’s push to “do a deal” or face military action challenges Tehran’s desire to have it both ways The Carbon to Clean Tracker catalogs “repowered” sites that push the energy transition forward The continent’s response to security and economic challenges could be transformative both at home and for post-American international relations the relationship between Washington and Pretoria was deteriorating This work, Tri-Border Town Hall - Brunssum, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright highly relevant issue briefs and reports that break new ground with a focus on advancing debates by integrating foundational research and analysis with concrete policy solutions the Atlantic Council’s experts have you covered—delivering their sharpest rapid insight and forward-looking analysis direct to your inbox New Atlanticist is where top experts and policymakers at the Atlantic Council and beyond offer exclusive insight on the most pressing global challenges—and the United States’ role in addressing them alongside its allies and partners A weekly column by Atlantic Council President and CEO Frederick Kempe Inflection Points focuses on the global challenges facing the United States and how to best address them UkraineAlert is a comprehensive online publication that provides regular news and analysis on developments in Ukraine’s politics UkraineAlert sources analysis and commentary from a wide-array of thought-leaders and activists from Ukraine and the global community MENASource offers the latest news from across the Middle East and independent analysis from fellows and staff Econographics provides an in-depth look at trends in the global economy utilizing state-of-the-art data visualization tools It will thus not be suitable for implementing NATO’s new regional defence plans or for building credible deterrence and defence.” Gintaras Bagdonas “Military Command and Control,” Vilnius Summit Series No International Centre for Defence and Security ICDS_Brief_Vilnius_Summit_No5_Gintaras_Bagdonas_July_2023.pdf these arrangements are not optimized for major theater war against Russia and why do these changes require new command structures How should the NATO Command Structure evolve The first step should be to acknowledge a changed security environment and the importance and contributions of new members (The current NCS dates to a time when Russia was viewed as a partner and major theater war in the North Atlantic region was considered unlikely.) To achieve consensus for change political realities must be taken into account; major NATO powers should occupy key posts that reflect their roles and influence in the Alliance Existing infrastructure and staffs should be leveraged to avoid unnecessary expense changes to the command structure should not add bloat or generate waste these functions have been strengthened and those trends should continue Its traditional leadership—a US four star as supreme commander with a UK deputy—is sound and should be retained although the German armed forces have only one (the chief of defense staff/inspector general of the Bundeswehr) This is excessive given that France and the UK currently have only one in NATO The command would benefit by relocating to Paris or Washington enhancing its prestige and enabling closer cooperation with the US Department of Defense and Joint Staff and defense industries as well as ACO and NATO headquarters Given persistent challenges with interoperability and standardization across the Alliance as well as the great potential of advanced technologies in the form of artificial intelligence ACT can only increase in importance for the Alliance it should receive priority for staffing on a par with ACO and US Strategic Command Joint Force Maritime Component Commander he can be provided with a UK three-star deputy JFC West should not be tasked with the conduct of land or air operations in the Nordic region SACLANT’s AOR extended all the way to the North Pole The accession of Finland and Sweden calls these arrangements into question additional NATO maritime forces can be “chopped” to JFC North or be controlled directly by ACO/SHAPE through MARCOM Poland is the strongest conventional power in Europe and currently fields 550,000 active and reserve military personnel more than 700 main battle tanks (on hand or on order) almost 2,400 artillery systems (on hand or on order) 116 fighter aircraft (on hand or on order) and 36 naval combatants (including 3 submarines) the addition of a US four star in Norfolk and Italy’s large economy and substantial military warrant Italian four-star representation in Naples Italy’s economy ranks eleventh in the world in GDP supporting a defense establishment of just under 200,000 active and reserve and Turkey as well as NATO’s Balkan allies (Albania US Naval Forces Europe and Africa would relocate to the UK the United States should be represented at the GOFO level in all joint force commands they are more properly referred to as “geographic” commands NATO’s three “tactical level” commands—Allied Air Command (AIRCOM) in Ramstein Germany; Allied Land Command (LANDCOM) in Izmir Turkey; and Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM) in Northwood in the United Kingdom—have several responsibilities The first is to serve as principal advisors to SACEUR for operations in the land these commands are tasked to monitor the readiness and interoperability of NATO’s land They are also responsible for providing wartime component command headquarters As they do not actually operate at the tactical level they are more properly referred to as “functional” commands AIRCOM in Ramstein is tasked “to provide air and space power to the Alliance” and is commanded by a US four star dual-hatted as commander US Air Forces Europe and Africa That officer therefore commands the air component for both USEUCOM and ACO The Combined Air Operations Center (CAOC) at Uedem in Germany manages air operations north of the Alps There is also a deployable or “flyaway” CAOC based in Poggio Renatico in northern Italy along with some fifty control and reporting centers and resilient and requires no significant reorganization This would provide a trained and ready Land Component Command able to command two or more NATO corps LANDCOM would retain its current functions and location and be prepared to provide an additional land component command for lesser or alternate contingencies Because the commander LANDCOM is often in Wiesbaden performing duties as commander USAREUR and AF and also because of Turkey’s size and importance the LANDCOM deputy commander should be a Turkish four-star general For maritime operations north of the GIUK Gap with JFC West exercising command of the sea lanes of communication in the North Atlantic These recommended changes to NATO’s Command Structure offer several advantages They acknowledge the importance of the US as leader of the Alliance but provide four-star representation for NATO’s largest and most important military contributors and Poland)—important for achieving consensus for any adaptations They represent a more rationalized and practical geographic approach to command and control recognizing the addition of important new members and far more territory to the Alliance particularly for two or more campaigns that may occur simultaneously within NATO’s area of responsibility They align component commanders between NATO and USEUCOM simplifying SACEUR’s command arrangements in times of fast-moving crises and for sustained multi-domain warfare they modify and adapt the command structure to more effectively address a changed security environment in the North Atlantic Treaty area now facing its most serious military threat since 1945 the NATO Command Structure is not fit for purpose in a post-2022 NATO The time is therefore right to consider improvements—both to deter and to contain and defeat a dangerous adversary The private sector is the “sixth domain” of modern warfare and the government should act to protect it Government officials and defense industry leaders meeting this month mapped out the opportunities available to accelerate defense and technology cooperation between NATO allies The DoD must accelerate defense innovation adoption from the leading edge of the private sector This report has ten recommendations to do so and features eight vignettes that explore how these actions may play out in practice The Transatlantic Security Initiative in the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security shapes and influences the debate on the greatest security challenges facing the North Atlantic Alliance and its key partners Image: US Navy sailors operate onboard aircraft carrier USS Harry S Sign up to receive expert analysis from our community on the most important global issues © 2025 Atlantic CouncilAll rights reserved If refreshing the page doesn't resolve the issue you could try clearing the sites browser cache The Mayor of Brunssum in Limburg has announced a ban on gatherings in the Treebeek district and the Klingelsberg area This was prompted by persistent nuisance caused by groups of young people in parts of the neighbourhood a threatening atmosphere and other situations that threaten public order having conversations with the young people and informing their parents no people under the age of 28 are allowed to be on the streets in groups more than two people in the area’s mentioned The ban on gatherings will apply for three months “The residents have had enough,” Van der Rijt said “The last straw for me was the recent physical confrontations between young people and the residents My message is: The municipality will enforce safety and quality of life by all possible means.” This work, Network implementation plans highlights JFC Brunssum KLE, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright This work, Brunssum SAC children explore commissary as part of field trip, by Charéll de Koster, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright This work, Mass casualty exercise tests first responders at Brunssum, by Charéll de Koster, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright This work, 21st TSC command team visits 405th AFSB’s Belgium, Netherlands APS-2 sites, Brunssum, by Cameron Porter, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright This work, Grand opening: Brunssum community receives new commissary, by Rick Brink, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright European Command (USEUCOM) and NATO’s Joint Force Command Brunssum (JFC Brunssum) met yesterday as part of their ongoing commitment to enhance transparency and understanding between the two organizations was the first time the staffs met as a group in person and served as an opportunity to strengthen ties between NATO Allies Twitty opened the meeting by acknowledging challenges faced across the theater and how important the staff talks are in addressing these challenges “These staff talks help us better synchronize and integrate but from the whole-of-NATO perspective,” Twitty said also articulated the importance of the meeting “These talks will intensify the cooperation between us JFC Brunssum’s role in NATO is based on three pillars: supporting the Resolute Support train and assist mission in Afghanistan; overseeing NATO’s enhanced forward presence (eFP) mission in northeastern Europe; and serving as standby command headquarters for NATO response force (NRF) 20 which is the Alliance’s go-to force for responding to emerging crises The day’s events featured a series of discussions presented by subject matter experts on a variety of topics to include how to best respond to real-world events as they arise and effective planning and execution of future exercises The talks also focused on enhancing security across the theater Both Twitty and Bühler agreed that continued cooperation and communication are a necessity for strengthening the partnership between the two organizations as well as strengthening alignment and interoperability into the future --30-- U.S. European Command is one of two U.S. forward-deployed geographic combatant commands whose area of focus spans across Europe, portions of Asia and the Middle East, and the Arctic and Atlantic oceans. The command is composed of approximately 70,000 military and civilian personnel and is responsible for U.S. defense operations and relations with NATO and 51 countries. For more information about U.S. European Command, visit https://www.eucom.mil Powered by Froala Editor This work, Nijmegen march offers challenge, inspiration to participants, by Sandra Wilson, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright This work, AFNorth school visits, performs at Invictus Games, by Sandra Wilson, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright