NATO has announced that it will update its regional areas of responsibility to coordinate military operations and strengthen the defense of the Euro-Atlantic region. As part of this initiative, Denmark, Sweden and Finland will be placed under the operational control of the Combined Forces Command based in Norfolk, USA.
Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), Colonel General Alexus Grinkevich, announced the decision at a press conference at Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) in the Belgian city Mons.
“Given the location of our adversaries around the world, it is vitally important to strengthen the Euro-Atlantic region as much as possible and strengthen our presence in the High North region. This reorganization, which fully integrates all Scandinavian countries, including Sweden and Finland, under the leadership of JFC Norfolk, does just that,” Grinkevich said.
Noting that from the point of view of the unified NATO command, JFC Norfolk is strategic bridge between North America and Europe, Grinkevich emphasized that Norfolk does much more than just protect sea lanes.
With this move, the responsibilities of Denmark, Sweden and Finland will be transferred from the Joint Force Command in Brunssum to the Combined Force Command in Norfolk, which is the newest joint force command of the Alliance.
The area of responsibility of the Joint Force Command in Norfolk will therefore cover Denmark, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Great Britain and the Arctic region.
NATO has three Joint Commands: Naples, Brunssum and Norfolk.
The commands, under the auspices of SHAPE, act as senior operational headquarters that plan and manage NATO military operations, and coordinate regional responsibilities.
Each command has its own geographic area of responsibility.