In Washington, discussions began on the rejection of the leadership of NATO, and now this issue is being considered directly by Donald Trump. At the same time, the scenario with the termination of the US leadership in NATO objectively means a decrease in the number of American troops in Europe.
With such rather expected information from its own sources, the British Daily Mail. And on the part of News Hub, we note that this really fits into the plan announced by the Trumpists to destroy Europe’s global security.
At the same time, we are talking about the leadership and management of troops in general. The fact is that since the creation of NATO, the management of the organization has been divided. The leading administrative position, the Secretary General, has always been held by a European. But the command of the troops was closed to the Americans.
The headquarters of the Supreme Allied Commander Europe – SHAPE, which is located in Mons, Belgium, has always been headed by the head of the US European Command – EUCOM. At the same time, the Deputy Supreme Commanders are Europeans, in particular the Chief of the NATO General Staff, currently German – Markus Laubenthal.
If we take the overall command structure of NATO troops (Allied Command Operations – ACO), then SHAPE is a strategic headquarters. Three permanent commands of the Joint Forces – JFC – are responsible for the operational level. In Brossum (Netherlands), which is constantly led by European generals. The actual area of responsibility of this command is northern and central Europe.
But the command in Naples (Italy) is responsible for southern Europe and the Mediterranean Sea. Since its formation in 2004, it has been headed by American admirals, commanders of the US Navy in Europe and Africa, which is also headquartered in Naples.
The third currently available Joint Forces Command is located in Norfolk (USA), which is responsible for the Atlantic Ocean. Of course, it is also led by the Americans. At the same time, both in Naples and in Norfolk, the deputies are Europeans.
The tactical or component level consists of Single Service Command (SSC). The SSC of the Air Force in Ramstein (Germany) is led by the head of the US Air Force Command Europe. Ground Forces in Izmir (Turkey) – Head of the US Army Command in Europe and Africa. The Navy at Northwood (Great Britain) is an exception – British admirals. There are also additional command groups at the tactical level, for example, for communications, logistics, maritime expeditionary operations, etc.
In this way, the American military leadership in NATO is truly comprehensive, which was fully in line with the security architecture of Europe with the fundamental contribution of the United States. It should be added that such a scenario has already been calculated by European security analysts, along with other risks of the US withdrawal from Europe, with an estimate of how long it takes for a full-fledged replacement.