As of 2008, Commander, Allied Joint Force Command Naples, was responsible for conducting the full range of military operations throughout the NATO Area of Responsibility (AOR) and beyond to deter aggression and to contribute to the effective defence of NATO territory and forces, safeguard freedom of the seas and economic lifelines and to preserve or restore the security of NATO nations.[4]
History
Arms of Headquarters, Allied Forces Southern Europe
Originally, Allied Forces Southern Europe was one of two major NATO commands in the Mediterranean area, the other being Allied Forces Mediterranean based on the island of Malta, responsible for naval activities in the region. While AdmiralRobert B. Carney of the U.S. Navy was appointed as Commander-in-Chief Allied Forces Southern Europe (CinCAFSOUTH) on 19 June 1951,[5] AFMED was not activated until 1953. The delay was due to negotiations and compromises between the Americans and the British, who wished to retain one of their commanders over Britain's traditional sea lines of communication stretching through the Mediterranean to the Suez Canal and beyond. From 1951 to 2003, the Commander-in-Chief of Allied Forces Southern Europe was always a United States Navyadmiral, based at Naples, who also held the US Navy position of Commander-in-Chief United States Naval Forces Europe and functioned as the Navy service component commander for United States European Command within the US-only chain of command. AFSOUTH headquarters was established at Bagnoli, Naples.
The first AIRSOUTH commander became U.S. Major General David M. Schlatter, USAF. On 14 October 1953, the Sixth Allied Tactical Air Force was also established in Izmir, commanded by Major General R.E.L. Easton, USAF, and responsible to Allied Air Forces Southern Europe for the air defence of Greece and Turkey.[8] Three national air Commands were assigned to it: the Turkish 1st and 3rd Tactical Air Forces, and the Greek Air Force's Royal Hellenic 28th Tactical Air Force. In terms of actual forces, this meant two Greek wings, four Turkish fighter-bomber groups of F-84 aircraft, and some B-26A Mosquitoes.
Later in 1953, the various national naval forces within Allied Forces Mediterranean were organised into six Sub-Principal Subordinate Commands (Sub-PSCs), each commanded by an Admiral (including one French (MEDOC), one Greek, one Turkish, one Italian and two British). In time of war, CINCAFMED would be responsible for securing the Sea lines of communications throughout the Mediterranean Sea.[7]
Some of AFSOUTH's first exercises took place in 1952. Operation Ancient Wall was a series of military maneuvers involving ground small unit tactical training, land-based tactical air support, and carrier-based air support under the overall command of Admiral Carney.[9]Exercise Grand Slam was a combined naval exercise held in the Mediterranean Sea between 25 February to 16 March 1952. The exercise included allied warships escorting three convoys of supply ships which were subjected to repeated simulated air and submarine attacks, as well as anti-submarine warfare (ASW) operations and naval gunfire shore bombardment.[10]Operation Longstep was a ten-day naval exercise held in the Mediterranean Sea held during November 1952. It involved over 170 warships and 700 aircraft, and it featured a large-scale amphibious assault along the western coast of Turkey.[11]
1953 AFSOUTH exercises included:
"Italic Weld" — a combined air-naval-ground exercise in northern Italy involving the United States, Italy, Turkey, and Greece[12]
"Weldfast" — a combined amphibious landing exercise in the Mediterranean Sea involving British, Greek, Italian, Turkish, and U.S. naval forces[12]
In 1957, Operation Deep Water simulated the defence of the Dardanelles from a Soviet attack. The exercise included an 8,000-strong amphibious landing.
The drawdown of the British Mediterranean Fleet, the military difficulties of the politically-decided command structure, and the withdrawal of the French from the military command structure forced a rearrangement of the command arrangements in the southern region. Allied Forces Mediterranean was disbanded on 5 June 1967, and all forces in the south and the Mediterranean were assigned to AFSOUTH.[1]
AFSOUTH continued to conduct exercises in the 1960s and 1970s, among which was exercise 'Dawn Patrol,' a five-nation naval and air exercise conducted throughout the Mediterranean in 1974.[13] The U.S. contribution to the exercise was based on the USS America carrier battle group. During the 1960s Exercise Deep Furrow appears to have been held annually. Deep Furrow was to be conducted from 20–29 September 1973 in the southern region of Allied Command Europe. Forces from Greece, Turkey and other countries in AF South Command were to participate, which is scheduled annually by CINCSOUTH. Land forces will hold maneuvers in Greek and Turkish Thrace, and naval Force will exercise in the Eastern Mediterranean, including the Aegean Sea; naval activities will include amphibious and carrier operations. As part of the exercise, ground units will be airlifted from their home stations in the United Kingdom and the United States to northwestern Turkey, where Turkish National Forces will execute plans for receiving them. Turkish National Forces will also conduct operations with Hellenic Armed Forces and NATO air units, providing fighter-bomber and reconnaissance support throughout the area of operations. Highlights of the exercise in Turkish Thrace will be a multi-national amphibious landing on 25 September 1973 and a multinational airborne operation on 26 September 1973.
From 1967 the overall shape of AFSOUTH did not significantly change until the command was renamed in 2004. There were five principal subordinate commands (PSCs).[14] The number rose to six when Greece was taking part in the military structure; Greece withdrew from the NATO military structure after the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974, and after some behind the scenes negotiating by NATO officials, returned in October 1980. Two land commands, Allied Land Forces Southern Europe and Allied Land Forces Southeastern Europe, were tasked to defend Italy and Turkey, respectively. Each was directly responsible to Commander-in-Chief, AFSOUTH, and supported by a tactical air force, Fifth Allied Tactical Air Force in Italy and Sixth Allied Tactical Air Force in Turkey. The two allied tactical air forces were under an overall air command, Allied Air Forces Southern Europe, headquartered at Naples in Italy under a United States Air Force officer, ComAirSouth, responsible himself to CinCAFSOUTH.[15] ComAirSouth held the U.S. national appointment of Commander Sixteenth Air Force for a long period.
Due to political considerations, command of the naval forces in the region was split. Allied Naval Forces Southern Europe, at Naples, operated most of the NATO allies' naval forces in the Mediterranean under an Italian admiral. But due to the U.S. desire to retain control of their nuclear-armed naval forces,[16] the United States Sixth Fleet reported directly to CinCAFSOUTH, supported by a separate headquarters named Naval Striking and Support Forces Southern Europe (STRIKFORSOUTH).
The sixth command was an Allied command responsible for the land defence of Greece, named Allied Land Forces South-Central Europe or LANDSOUTHCENT. However, it is not certain whether it was ever actually operational, with the 1998/99 NATO Handbook listing it as 'yet to be activated.' Below these PSCs were smaller headquarters such as Maritime Air Forces, Mediterranean, at Sigonella, Sicily, responsible for the coordination of the aerial anti-submarine effort, Submarine Forces, South,[17] and the Naval On-Call Force Mediterranean, a multinational escort squadron activated at intervals.
Commander Gibraltar Mediterranean (COMGIBMED), in Gibraltar, under a Royal NavyRear Admiral, who doubled as Commander British Forces Gibraltar. British plans, to Captain Peter Melson (RN)'s knowledge in 1990 "committed no forces to defence of the Strait, while Spain was willing to commit substantial elements of their ORBAT [order of battle, their armed forces]."[18]
Commander Western Mediterranean (COMMEDWEST), under a French Navy admiral, until 1962 in Algiers, then Toulon, after France left NATO's integrated command structure in 1966 the command was absorbed by NAVSOUTH
Commander Central Mediterranean (COMEDCENT), in Naples, under an Italian Navy admiral
Commander South-Eastern Mediterranean (COMMEDSOUTHEAST), under a British admiral in Malta, after the disbanding of the Mediterranean Fleet, the command was absorbed by NAVSOUTH
Commander Maritime Air Forces Mediterranean (COMMARAIRMED), at Naval Air Station Sigonella, Italy, under Commander US Navy Fleet Air Wing Mediterranean
Commander Submarines Mediterranean (COMSUBMED), in Naples, under Commander US Navy Submarine Group 8
Naval Striking and Support Forces Southern Europe (STRIKFORSOUTH), in Naples, Italy, centered around the US Navy Sixth Fleet
Post Cold War
From 1992 AFSOUTH was heavily involved in NATO operations in the Balkans, initially with NATO seaborne enforcement of a UN arms embargo, Operation 'Maritime Monitor,' which began in July 1992. This operation was fused with a similar Western European Union effort and thus became Operation Sharp Guard from July 1993. AFSOUTH also directed activities such as Operation Deny Flight from AIRSOUTH headquarters in Italy. Commander-in-Chief AFSOUTH directed the NATO peacekeeping missions in Bosnia & Hercegovina, IFOR and SFOR, from December 1995. While technically in charge of KFOR from mid-1999, General Sir Mike Jackson's autobiography, Soldier, indicates General Wesley Clark at SHAPE in Belgium directly supervised many of KFOR's activities, without going through AFSOUTH, at least during the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps' tour as HQ KFOR in 1999.
Beginning 10 July 1951, Headquarters Allied Land Forces Southern Europe was responsible for defending the North-Eastern Italian sector in cooperation with other NATO nations. During the intervening 40 years, the HQ produced plans and studies to counter a potential invasion by the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact. After 53 years in the city of Verona, what had become Joint Command South (JCS) closed its doors on 15 June 2004.[19] Also closing was Joint Headquarters Southwest in Madrid and Joint Headquarters Southeast/Joint Command Southeast in Izmir.
Establishment as JFC Naples
A change of command ceremony is held at the Allied Joint Force Command Naples during 2016
The reorganisation of AFSOUTH as JFC Naples in 2004 was a part of NATO’s transformation, initiated by the Prague summit of 2002, aimed at adapting the allied military structure to the operational challenges of coalition warfare, to face the emerging threats in the new millennium. The new NATO Command Structure is leaner and focused on conducting a much wider range of missions.
NHQ Sarajevo remains operational, as also NATO Headquarters Tirana, an outgrowth of the former Kosovo Force (KFOR) Communications Zone West, originally established in 1999. Communication Zone West was retitled NHQ Tirana on 17 June 2002,[20] and it now performs a Defence Reform and Security Sector Reform advisory role, aiming to support the Albanian Armed Forces, now a member of NATO.
NATO and Romanian Ministry of Defense representatives activated the Headquarters Multinational Division Southeast (HQ MND-SE) headquarters in Bucharest, Romania, on December 1, 2015.[25][26] The new HQ was activated as part of the Readiness Action Plan agreed at the 2014 Wales Summit. JFC Naples will serve as the operational control of MND-SE. The division HQ will be prepared to execute command and control over the NATO Force Integration Units in Romania and Bulgaria for a range of missions, which includes Article V operations based on NATO planning, when authorized by the North Atlantic Council and directed by the Supreme Allied Commander Europe.
Related Research Articles
The Sixth Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy operating as part of United States Naval Forces Europe-Africa. The Sixth Fleet is headquartered at Naval Support Activity Naples, Italy. The officially stated mission of the Sixth Fleet in 2011 is that it "conducts the full range of Maritime Operations and Theater Security Cooperation missions, in concert with coalition, joint, interagency, and other parties, in order to advance security and stability in Europe and Africa." The current commander of the Sixth Fleet is Vice Admiral Jeffrey T. Anderson.
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 village of Casteau, near Mons, Belgium.
The Sixteenth Air Force (Air Forces Cyber) (16 AF) is a United States Air Force (USAF) organization responsible for information warfare, which encompasses intelligence gathering and analysis, surveillance, reconnaissance, cyber warfare and electronic warfare operations. Its headquarters is at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland in Texas.
Allied Command Operations (ACO) is one of the two strategic commands of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the other being Allied Command Transformation (ACT). The headquarters and commander of ACO is Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) and Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), respectively.
The United States Naval Forces Europe and Africa (NAVEUR-NAVAF), is the United States Navy component command of the United States European Command and United States Africa Command. Prior to 2020, NAVEUR-NAVAF was previously referred to as United States Naval Forces Europe – Naval Forces Africa and sometimes referred to as United States Naval Forces Europe – Africa.
Exercise Mainbrace was the first large-scale naval exercise undertaken by the newly established Allied Command Atlantic (ACLANT), one of the two principal military commands of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). It was part of a series of NATO exercises jointly commanded by Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic Admiral Lynde D. McCormick, USN, and Supreme Allied Commander Europe General Matthew B. Ridgeway, U.S. Army, during the fall of 1952.
Headquarters Allied Force Command Heidelberg was a formation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) responsible for providing deployable joint staff elements (DJSE) in support of NATO operations worldwide. It was headquartered at Campbell Barracks, Germany, and reported to the Joint Force Command Brunssum (JFCBS). During the War in Afghanistan, it provided command and control elements to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). It was disbanded on 1 April 2013.
Exercise Grand Slam was an early major naval exercise of the newly formed North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). This 1952 combined naval exercise took place in the Mediterranean Sea, and it included a naval force that was described as being "the largest armada to be assembled in that area since the end of World War II." Exercise Grand Slam was an early test for NATO's Allied Forces Southern Europe. With Exercise Longstep, this exercise served as the prototype for future NATO maritime exercises in the Mediterranean Sea during the Cold War.
The structure of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is complex and multi-faceted. The decision-making body is the North Atlantic Council (NAC), and the member state representatives also sit on the Defence Policy and Planning Committee (DPPC) and the Nuclear Planning Group (NPG). Below that the Secretary General of NATO directs the civilian International Staff, that is divided into administrative divisions, offices and other organizations. Also responsible to the NAC, DPPC, and NPG are a host of committees that supervise the various NATO logistics and standardisation agencies.
Exercise Longstep was a ten-day NATO naval exercise held in the Mediterranean Sea during November 1952 under the overall command of Admiral Robert B. Carney, USN, the Commander-in-Chief Allied Forces Southern Europe (CINCAFSOUTH). This exercise involved over 170 warships and 700 aircraft, and it featured a large-scale amphibious assault along the western coast of Turkey. With Exercise Grand Slam, this exercise served as the prototype for future NATO maritime exercises in the Mediterranean Sea during the Cold War.
Allied Air Command İzmir was a military aviation component command of the NATO Military Command Structure from 2004 to 2013.
The Allied Land Command (LANDCOM) formerly Allied Land Forces South-Eastern Europe (LANDSOUTHEAST) is the standing headquarters for NATO land forces which may be assigned as necessary. The Commander LANDCOM is the primary land warfare advisor to Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) and the Alliance. When directed by SACEUR, it provides the core of the headquarters responsible for the conduct of land operations. The command is based at Şirinyer (Buca), İzmir in Turkey.
Allied Maritime Command (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 Force Command Naples. The command was deactivated in March 2013.
Allied Naval Forces Southern Europe (NAVSOUTH) was a Component Command in NATO's Allied Forces Southern Europe (AFSOUTH).
Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO (STRIKFORNATO) is a naval command of Allied Command Operations of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). It is part of the NATO Force Structure. STRIKFORNATO is commanded by the Commander of the United States Sixth Fleet, and it is the only command capable of leading an expanded maritime task force. Its predecessor was Naval Striking and Support Forces Southern Europe (STRIKFORSOUTH); the name change took place in 2004.
Allied Land Forces Southern Europe (LANDSOUTH) was a military command of NATO's Allied Forces Southern Europe (AFSOUTH) command. Based in Verona in Northern Italy LANDSOUTH was tasked with defending Italy north of the Apennine mountains against a Warsaw Pact or Yugoslavian invasion. Activated in 1951 under an Italian Army four-star general, the command was disbanded in 2004.
Mustafa Zeki Uğurlu is a two-star admiral in the Turkish Navy who recently served as a flag officer at NATO Supreme Allied Command Transformation in Norfolk, Virginia.
The history of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) begins in the immediate aftermath of World War II when British diplomacy set the stage to contain the Soviet Union and to stop the expansion of Soviet power in Europe. The United Kingdom and France signed, in 1947, the Treaty of Dunkirk, a defensive pact, which was expanded in 1948 with the Treaty of Brussels to add the three Benelux countries and committed them to collective defense against an armed attack for fifty years. The British worked with Washington to expand the alliance into NATO in 1949, adding the United States and Canada as well as Italy, Portugal, Norway, Denmark, and Iceland. Greece and Turkey joined in 1952, West Germany joined in 1955, Spain joined in 1982, Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland joined in 1999, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia joined in 2004, Albania and Croatia joined in 2009, Montenegro joined in 2017, North Macedonia joined in 2020, Finland joined in 2023, and Sweden joined in 2024.
Allied Air Forces Southern Europe (AIRSOUTH) was a military aviation component command of the NATO Military Command Structure from 1951 to 2004.
The United States Army NATO Brigade (USANATO) is a US Army brigade providing training, logistics, human resources, and service-specific support at 81 US Army NATO locations across 21 countries. The brigade headquarters is based in Sembach in Germany.
↑ Operation Deny Flight was directed by Allied Forces Southern Europe (AFSOUTH) in Naples, under the command of the Commander-in-Chief of Allied Forces Southern Europe. Smith and Boorda, however, delegated day-to-day authority to Allied Air Forces Southern Europe (AIRSOUTH) commanded by Lieutenant General Joseph W. Ashy (until 1994) and then Lt. Gen Michael Ryan. While AIRSOUTH maintained day-to-day command, "mission tasking and operational control" were delegated to the commander of the NATO Fifth Allied Tactical Air Force (5ATAF).
↑ Maloney, Sean M. (1992). 'To Secure Command of the Sea': NATO Command Organization and Naval Planning for the Cold War, 1945-1954 (MA). University of New Brunswick.
Chourchoulis, Dionysios (2014). The Southern Flank of NATO, 1951–1959: Military Strategy or Political Stabilization. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books. ISBN978-0-73919-305-1.
Iatrides, John O. (2008). "Failed Rampart: NATO's Balkan Front". In Heiss, Mary Ann; Papacosma, S. Victor (eds.). NATO and the Warsaw Pact: Intrabloc Conflicts. Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press. ISBN978-1-61277-603-3.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
