Allied Command Operations

SHAPE

AC

LC

JSEC

Locations of NATO's two strategic commands — Allied Command Transformation (ACT) with its subordinate centres (blue marks) and Allied Command Operations (ACO), headquartered at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) and including its subordinate and joint force commands (red marks).

The 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.

Structure

POLITICAL-STRATEGIC LEVEL:

North Atlantic Council
(NAC)
NATO Headquarters, Brussels, BEL

Secretary-General
(SECGEN)
NATO Headquarters, Brussels, BEL

International Staff
(IS)
NATO Headquarters, Brussels, BEL

MILITARY-STRATEGIC LEVEL:

International Military Staff
(IMS)
NATO Headquarters, Brussels, BEL

Military Committee
(MC)
NATO Headquarters, Brussels, BEL

STRATEGIC COMMANDS:

Supreme Allied Commander Transformation
Allied Command Transformation (ACT)
Norfolk, U.S.

Supreme Allied Commander Europe
Allied Command Operations (ACO)
Mons, BEL

TRANSFORMATION COMMANDS:

OPERATIONAL COMMANDS:

Joint Warfare Centre
(JWC)
Stavanger, NOR

Joint Force Command Brunssum
(JFC Brunssum)
Brunssum, NLD

Allied Air Command
(AIRCOM)
Ramstein, DEU

Joint Force Training Centre
(JFTC)
Bydgoszcz, POL

Joint Force Command Naples
(JFC Naples)
Naples, ITA

Allied Land Command
(LANDCOM)
İzmir, TUR

Joint Analysis and Lessons Learned Centre
(JALLC)
Lisbon, PRT

Joint Force Command Norfolk
(JFC Norfolk)
Norfolk, Virginia, U.S.

Allied Maritime Command
(MARCOM)
Northwood, GBR

Joint Support and Enabling Command
(JSEC)
Ulm, DEU

Under ACO, there are three Strategic Level Commands and three tactical level commands:^[1]

Strategic Level Commands:

Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum (JFCBS), Netherlands
Allied Joint Force Command Naples (JFCNP), Italy
Joint Force Command Norfolk (JFC-NF), United States

Tactical Level commands:

Allied Air Command (AIRCOM) at Ramstein, Germany
Allied Land Command (LANDCOM) at Izmir, Turkey
Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM) at Northwood, United Kingdom

Other commands:

Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO (aka. Strike Force NATO, STRIKFORNATO) at Oeiras, Portugal
NATO Communication and Information Systems Command (NCISG) at Mons, Belgium
Joint Support and Enabling Command in Ulm, Germany

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 and its sea lines of communication 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.^[2]

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.^[2]

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, also headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia.^[3]^[4] As of 2021, the JFCNF and 2nd Fleet commander is Vice Admiral Daniel W. Dwyer, USN.