Washington will relinquish leadership of the Allied Joint Command
The United States will give up leadership of NATO commands in southern and northern Europe and take over the Allied Maritime Command in the United Kingdom, reported the AFP agency.
Citing diplomatic sources, the news agency said that Washington will give up leadership of the Joint Allied Command (JFC), based in Naples (southern Italy) and focused on operations in the southern region of Europe and the Atlantic, which will be taken over by Rome.
The JFC in Norfolk (eastern United States), focused on the north, will also leave the North American leadership and move to the United Kingdom, according to the same sources, who confirmed information revealed by the French newspaper La Lettre.
The JFC are the operational commands responsible for planning and conducting potential NATO operations.
The third JFC, focused on the eastern region of the Alliance, is based in Brunssum (Netherlands) and is currently commanded by a German officer.
According to AFP, US forces will take over the Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM), based in Northwood, Great Britain.
These changes should be implemented within a few months, two NATO diplomats told AFP on condition of anonymity.
“It’s a good sign of a de facto transfer of responsibilities,” said a source.
The United States has played the central military role in NATO since its creation in 1949.
They will now exercise central command of the three branches of NATO: land forces (LANDCOM), maritime forces (MARCOM) and air forces (AIRCOM).
The position of Supreme Allied Commander in Europe (SACEUR), a strategic post, will continue to be occupied by a North American officer, as has been the case since the creation of the Alliance.
The more “political” position of secretary general is traditionally held by a European, currently the Dutchman Mark Rutte.
The Washington Post recently reported that the United States Department of Defense (Pentagon) plans to reduce the country’s participation in elements of NATO’s force structure and in several alliance advisory groups.
The newspaper, which cited several US authorities linked to the process, said that this is the latest sign of the initiative by the administration led by Donald Trump to reduce the military presence in Europe.
The move has been under consideration for months, according to two US officials, one of whom said it was not related to President Donald Trump’s growing threats to seize the Danish territory of Greenland.
Trump’s provocations have drawn widespread condemnation from European leaders and many lawmakers in Congress, who fear the Republican head of state risks causing irreparable and unnecessary damage to the alliance.
Under pressure from the Trump administration, the alliance agreed last summer to increase defense spending to 5% of GDP over the next 10 years, including 1.5% earmarked for infrastructure and other civilian projects.
NATO has the Steadfast Dart 26 exercise underway, with the participation of Portuguese forces and other allies, but without North American forces.
With around 10,000 soldiers from eleven allied countries, the Steadfast Dart 26 is part of the training of the Allied Reaction Force (ARF), an Alliance rapid reaction force capable of being mobilized wherever necessary, inside and outside member states, in a few days.
The main objective of the Steadfast Dart 26 is to demonstrate rapid deployment capability and convergence in time and space with the rest of the AFR forces.
At a press conference last week, German General Ingo Gerharzt, head of the NATO Central European Command, denied that the absence of US forces in this year’s exercise was related to tensions surrounding the current international policy of the United States under the presidency of Donald Trump.
“They are not part of this year’s exercise, but they could do so in the coming years”, assured the German general, adding that NATO counts on “a strong contribution from the USA”.
