Allied Land Command | |
---|---|
Founded | 1 December 2012 |
Type | Operational level command |
Role | Command and control of land forces |
Part of | Allied Command Operations |
Headquarters | General Vecihi Akın Garrison, Şirinyer, İzmir, Turkey |
Website | lc |
Commanders | |
Commander | General Darryl A. Williams (United States Army) |
Deputy Commander | Lieutenant General Nicola Zanelli (Italian Army) |
Chief of Staff | Lieutenant General Mustafa Oğuz (Turkish Land Forces) |
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.
NATO has had a headquarters at Izmir for decades. Initially, the body there was Allied Land Forces South-Eastern Europe (LANDSOUTHEAST), responsible to Allied Forces Southern Europe at Naples. Under this command, with its headquarters in Izmir assisted by the subordinate Thessaloniki Advanced Command Post, were to be most of the Greek and Turkish armies in case of war. LANDSOUTHEAST was commanded by a United States Army lieutenant general: [1]
In 1966 the first major change occurred when French military personnel were withdrawn from LANDSOUTHEAST, followed by the Greek withdrawal in 1974. On 30 December 1977, SHAPE and Turkish military authorities announced another change in the command structure of LANDSOUTHEAST, to be effective 1 July 1978. The command billet was to be filled by a Turkish Army four star general with a U.S. Major General as his deputy. U.S. General Sam S. Walker took command in 1977, and On 30 June 1978, General Walker handed over the command to General Vecihi Akın , the first Turkish commander. General Akın held command until 30 August 1979. [3]
Construction of a new headquarters facility in Şirinyer , Izmir was completed in March 1994 and LANDSOUTHEAST moved into the facility in April 1994. In July 1994, two German Army officers were assigned to the command for the first time. The headquarters garrison at Şirinyer was named General Vecihi Akın Garrison in March 1996, after the first Turkish LANDSOUTHEAST Commander. Turkish Land Forces General Hüseyin Kıvrıkoğlu commanded LANDSOUTHEAST from c.1993–1996, followed by Hilmi Özkök from 1996 to 1998. [4]
After the end of the Cold War, for a period the NATO command in Izmir became Joint Command Southeast. After a major NATO reorganisation, the previous southern air component command, Allied Air Forces Southern Europe (AIRSOUTH), in Italy, was disestablished. Thus between 11 August 2004 and 1 June 2013 the new headquarters of NATO's southern air component command, Allied Air Command İzmir, was located at the İzmir site. [5] The next reorganisation merged the northern and southern air component commands into the single Allied Air Command located at Ramstein Air Base in Germany under a United States Air Force general. [6]
In 2013 the 350-person headquarters took over the responsibilities of Allied Force Command Heidelberg in Germany and Allied Force Command Madrid in Spain, which are being deactivated as part of NATO's transformation. [7]
LANDCOM was created through the North Atlantic Council to ensure the interoperability of NATO land forces, and placed directly under the Supreme Allied Commander Europe to be the leading voice on land issues within the Alliance. It is responsible for providing a deployable land command for a joint operation. LANDCOM will also carry out the planning, conduct and direction of such land operations. [8] What this means is that if a single corps land operation is underway, that corps will probably report to either JFC Brunssum or JFC Naples. If multiple corps are being directed, LANDCOM will direct them for either JFC Brunssum or Naples. [9]
On 26 March 2015, Lieutenant General Ed Davis, Deputy Commander, Allied Land Command, arrived at Headquarters Multinational Corps Northeast (HQ MNC NE) to discuss the ongoing transformation of Multinational Corps Northeast. [10] "The main reason I am here is that Commander LANDCOM has given me the responsibility to lead the evolution of MNC NE and Multinational Division South-East as the two new NATO command organisations which are going to be at the centre of the evolution of the NATO Land Forces," said Lieutenant General Davis. [10]
Romania is leading the process of creating Multinational Division South-East, which will be established in Bucharest, Romania, in 2015–16. [11] The division in Bucharest will be subordinate to the NATO Force Integration Unit also to be established there. The division will reach partial/initial operational capacity in 2016 and Full operational capability (FOC) in 2018. [12]
An overview of NATO's military structures:
Other Staffs and Commands Responsible to SACEUR: [13]
General Hilmi Özkök is a Turkish general who served as the 24th Chief of the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces. He took up that post on August 28, 2002, and served until August 30, 2006, when he retired and was succeeded by General Yaşar Büyükanıt.
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 Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC) is a rapid reaction force maintained by NATO. It is capable of deploying a High Readiness Force (Land) Headquarters at short notice for operations and crisis response.
Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum (JFCBS) is a NATO command with its headquarters at Brunssum, the Netherlands. It was established in 2004, as part of a reorganisation that reduced the number of NATO Military Command Structure headquarters.
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.
Campbell Barracks, in Heidelberg, Germany, was home to Headquarters, United States Army Europe (USAREUR) from 1948 to 2013. It was also home to Headquarters, V Corps and Headquarters, Allied Force Command Heidelberg.
The Joint Force CommandNaples is a NATO military command based in Lago Patria, in the Metropolitan City of Naples, Italy. It was activated on 15 March 2004, after effectively redesigning its predecessor command, Allied Forces Southern Europe (AFSOUTH), originally formed in 1951. In NATO Military Command Structure terms, AFSOUTH was a "Major Subordinate Command". The commander of JFC Naples reports to the Supreme Allied Commander Europe at the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, Casteau, Belgium.
The Allied Joint Force Command Lisbon was one of the largest NATO bases in south Europe Allied Command Operations. It was based in Oeiras, near Lisbon, Portugal. In 2009 a French lieutenant general took command from the previous US Navy admiral who had filled the post for a number of years. It was deactivated in 2012.
Hüseyin Kıvrıkoğlu is a retired Turkish general who was the 23rd commander of the Turkish Armed Forces and on August 30, 1998, became Chief of the Turkish General Staff for a four-year term.
Izmir Air Station is a United States Air Force facility in İzmir, Turkey. It is located 320 km (200 mi) SSW of Istanbul, on the western coast of Turkey.
The Allied Air Command (AIRCOM) is the central command of all NATO 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 Commander Europe (SACEUR), it provides the core of the headquarters responsible for the conduct of air operations. The command is based at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany.
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.
The Structure of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization 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.
Allied Air Command İzmir was a military aviation component command of the NATO Military Command Structure from 2004 to 2013.
Helge Hansen is a retired general who served in the German Army within the Bundeswehr. From 1992 to 1994 he was the Inspector of the Army and from 1994 to 1996 he was Commander Allied Forces Central Europe within NATO.
Allied Air Forces Central Europe (AAFCE) was the NATO command tasked with air and air defense operations in NATOs Allied Forces Central Europe (AFCENT) area of command.
The Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM) is the central command of all NATO maritime forces and the Commander MARCOM is the prime maritime advisor to the Alliance. When directed by the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), it provides the core of the headquarters responsible for the conduct of maritime operations. The command is based at the Northwood Headquarters in Eastbury, Hertfordshire.
Headquarters Multinational Division Southeast is NATO's command and control military body in the South-East region under the Multinational Corps Southeast. The operational control is handled by the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR). The headquarters are located in Bucharest, Romania. Established on 31 August 2015, the HQ MND-SE is the restructure of the former Romanian 1st Infantry Division.
Paolo Ruggiero is a General in the Italian Army who served as Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Transformation of NATO from 19 July 2019 to 7 July 2022 when he was replaced by General Chris Badia of the German Air Force.
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.
Since August 2022, the Commanding General, United States Army Europe and Africa has been dual-hatted as Commander, Allied Land Command. [1]
No. | Portrait | Supreme Allied Commander | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Defence branch |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Lieutenant General Frederick B. Hodges III (born 1958) | 1 December 2012 | 23 October 2014 | 1 year, 326 days | United States Army | |
2 | John W. Nicholson Jr. (born 1957) | Lieutenant General23 October 2014 | 24 June 2016 | 1 year, 245 days | United States Army | |
3 | Darryl A. Williams (born 1961) | Lieutenant General24 June 2016 | 29 June 2018 | 2 years, 5 days | United States Army | |
- | Paolo Ruggiero (born 1957) Acting [lower-alpha 1] | Lieutenant General29 June 2018 | 3 August 2018 | 35 days | Italian Army | |
4 | John C. Thomson III | Lieutenant General3 August 2018 | 4 August 2020 | 2 years, 1 day | United States Army | |
5 | Roger L. Cloutier Jr. (born 1965) | Lieutenant General4 August 2020 | 4 August 2022 | 2 years, 0 days | United States Army | |
(3) | General Darryl A. Williams (born 1961) | 4 August 2022 | Incumbent | 1 year, 178 days | United States Army |