Allied Maritime Command

The Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet (Royal Navy), gained a NATO responsibility as Commander-in-Chief Eastern Atlantic Area (CINCEASTLANT), as part of SACLANT, when the NATO military command structure was established in 1953. CINCEASTLANT headquarters was established at the Northwood Headquarters in northwest London.[1]

Commander-in-Chief Eastern Atlantic was redesignated as Commander, Allied Maritime Component Command Northwood ('CC-Mar' or AMCCN) around 2004.[2] The command, which was renamed Allied Maritime Command Northwood in 2010, reports to Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum.[3]

At the 2010 NATO Summit in Lisbon it was decided to create a leaner and more effective command structure.[4] This reduced the number of major headquarters from 11 to 7 and, in particular, led to the deactivation of the Allied Maritime Command Naples on 27 March 2013 leaving the newly named MARCOM as the sole maritime component in NATO.[5]

MARCOM led Operation Active Endeavour, NATO's only Article-5 operation which ended in 2016. MARCOM also led Operation Ocean Shield, NATO's counter-piracy operation in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean which also ended in 2016.[6]

Currently, MARCOM leads Operation Sea Guardian designed as a Maritime Security Operation to provide security in the Mediterranean Sea.[7][8]

MARCOM was created through the North Atlantic Council to ensure the interoperability of NATO maritime forces, and placed directly under the Supreme Allied Commander Europe to be the leading voice on maritime issues within the Alliance. It is responsible for planning and conducting all NATO maritime operations.[9]

An overview of the NATO Military Command Structure (NCS):

Liaison:       Provides advice and support to the NAC

Political strategic level:

North Atlantic Council

Secretary General of NATO Brussels, BE

International Staff Brussels, BE

Military strategic level:

Chair of the NATO Military Committee International Military Staff NATO HQ, Brussels, BE

Strategic commands:

SACEUR (ACO, SHAPE) Mons, BE

SACT (Allied Command Transformation, HQ SACT) Norfolk, US

Tactical commands:

Transformational commands:

Allied Air Command Ramstein, DE

Joint Warfare Centre Stavanger, NO

Allied Maritime Command Northwood, GB

Joint Analysis and Lessons Learned Centre Lisbon, PT

Allied Land Command İzmir, TR

Joint Force Training Centre Bydgoszcz, PL

Misc.:

Joint Support and Enabling Command Ulm, DE

Operational commands:

Communications & Information Systems Group Mons, BE

Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO Oeiras, PT

Joint Force Command Norfolk Norfolk, US

Allied Joint Force Command Naples Naples, IT

Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum Brunssum, NL

Response Force:

Multinational Corps Southeast Sibiu, RO

Multinational Corps Northeast Szczecin, PL

MARCOM leads four standing NATO maritime groups, two frigate groups and two mine countermeasures groups. The Standing NATO Maritime Groups are a multinational, integrated maritime force made up of vessels from allied countries. The ships and any aircraft aboard are available to NATO to support Alliance tasking. These groups provide NATO with a continuous maritime capability. The command is also responsible for additional naval assets as they support NATO missions.[10]

Current groups are:

• Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1)
• Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2)
• Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 1 (SNMCMG1)
• Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 2 (SNMCMG2).

Commanders have been:

• Vice Admiral Sir Trevor Soar (2010–2012)[11]
• Vice Admiral Sir George Zambellas (2012–2013)[12]
• Vice Admiral Peter Hudson (2013–2015)[13]
• Vice Admiral Clive Johnstone (2015–2019)[14]
• Vice Admiral Keith Blount (2019–2023)[15]
• Vice Admiral Mike Utley (2023–Present)[16]

• Official website