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NATO Military Committee

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
NATO Military Committee
LocationBrussels, Belgium
WebsiteNATO.int
Commanders
Secretary GeneralMark Rutte
ChairLieutenant Admiral Rob Bauer
Deputy ChairVacant
Director General of the International Military StaffLieutenant General Janusz Adamczak
Insignia
Chair's arms
Deputy Chair's arms
International Military Staff's arms
International Military Staff's flag

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)'s Military Committee (MC) is the body that is composed of member states' Chiefs of Defence (CHOD). These national CHODs are regularly represented in the MC by their permanent Military Representatives (MilRep), who often are officers of the rank of general and admiral. Like the Council, from time to time the Military Committee also meets at a higher level, namely at the level of Chiefs of Defence, the most senior military officer in each nation's armed forces.

Role

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Chairman in 2014, General Knud Bartels

The MC assists and advises the North Atlantic Council (NAC), Defence Planning Committee (DPC), and Nuclear Planning Group (NPG) on military matters including policy and strategy.[1] Its principal role is to provide direction and advice on military policy and strategy. It provides guidance on military matters to the Supreme Allied Commanders of Allied Command Operations and Allied Command Transformation, whose representatives attend its meetings, and is responsible for the overall conduct of the military affairs of the Alliance under the authority of the Council. The executive body of the MC is the International Military Staff (IMS).[2]

Current NATO Chiefs of Defence

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Member CHOD Member CHOD Member CHOD
Albania

Chief of the General Staff of
Albania

Member since
1 April 2009
Major General
Arben Kingji
of the
 Albanian Land Force 		Belgium

Chief of Defence of
Belgium

Member since
24 August 1949
General
Frederik Vansina
of the
 Belgian Air Component 		Bulgaria

Chief of Defence of
Bulgaria

Member since
29 March 2004
Admiral
Emil Eftimov
of the
 Bulgarian Navy
Canada

Chief of the Defence Staff of
Canada

Member since
24 August 1949
General
Jennie Carignan
of the
 Canadian Army 		Croatia

Chief of the General Staff of
Croatia

Member since
1 April 2009
Colonel general
Tihomir Kundid
of the
 Croatian Army 		Czech Republic

Chief of the General Staff of the
Czech Republic

Member since
12 March 1999
Lieutenant General
Karel Řehka
of the
Czech Special Forces
Denmark

Chief of Defence of
Denmark

Member since
24 August 1949
Major General
Michael Hyldgaard
of the
 Royal Danish Army 		Estonia

Commander of the Defence Forces of
Estonia

Member since
29 March 2004
Major General
Andrus Merilo
of the
 Estonian Land Forces 		Finland

Chief of Defence of
Finland

Member since
4 April 2023
General
Janne Jaakkola
of the
Finnish Army
France

Chief of the Defence Staff of
France

Member since
24 August 1949[a]
General
Thierry Burkhard
of the
French Army 		Germany

Inspector General of the Bundeswehr of
Germany

Member since
6 May 1955[b]
General
Carsten Breuer
of the
 German Army 		Greece

Chief of the General Staff of
Greece

Member since
18 February 1952
General
Dimitrios Choupis
of the
 Hellenic Army
Hungary

Chief of the General Staff of
Hungary

Member since
12 March 1999
Colonel General
Gábor Böröndi
of the
 Hungarian Ground Forces 		Iceland

Director of the Security and Defence Department of
Iceland

Member since
24 August 1949

Jónas G. Allansson
 Italy

Chief of the Defence Staff of
Italy

Member since
24 August 1949
General
Luciano Portolano
of the
 Italian Army
Latvia

Commander of the Armed Forces of
Latvia

Member since
29 March 2004
Lieutenant General
Leonīds Kalniņš
of the
Latvian National Guard 		Lithuania

Chief of Defence of
Lithuania

Member since
29 March 2004
General
Raimundas Vaikšnoras
of the
 Lithuanian Land Force 		Luxembourg

Chief of Defence of
Luxembourg

Member since
24 August 1949
General
Steve Thull
of the
 Luxembourg Army
Montenegro

Chief of the General Staff of
Montenegro

Member since
5 June 2017
Brigadier General
Zoran Lazarević
of the
Montenegrin Ground Army 		Netherlands

Chief of Defence of the
Netherlands

Member since
24 August 1949
General
Onno Eichelsheim
of the
 Royal Netherlands Air Force 		North Macedonia

Chief of the General Staff of
North Macedonia

Member since
27 March 2020
Major General
Saško Lafčiski
of the
North Macedonian Special Forces
Norway

Chief of Defence of
Norway

Member since
24 August 1949
General
Eirik Kristoffersen
of the
 Norwegian Army 		Poland

Chief of the General Staff of
Poland

Member since
12 March 1999
General
Wiesław Kukuła
of the
Polish Territorial Defence Forces 		Portugal

Chief of the General Staff of
Portugal

Member since
24 August 1949
General
José Nunes da Fonseca
of the
 Portuguese Army
Romania

Chief of the General Staff of
Romania

Member since
29 March 2004
General
Gheorghiță Vlad
of the
 Romanian Land Forces 		Slovakia

Chief of the General Staff of
Slovakia

Member since
29 March 2004
Lieutenant General
Daniel Zmeko
of the
Slovak Ground Forces 		Slovenia

Chief of the General Staff of
Slovenia

Member since
29 March 2004
Major General
Robert Glavaš
of the
Slovenian Ground Force
Spain

Chief of the Defence Staff of
Spain

Member since
30 May 1982
Admiral General
Teodoro Esteban López Calderón
of the
Spanish Navy 		Sweden

Supreme Commander of
Sweden

Member since
7 March 2024
General
Michael Claesson
of the
 Swedish Army 		Turkey

Chief of the General Staff of
Turkey

Member since
18 February 1952
General
Metin Gürak
of the
Turkish Land Forces
United Kingdom

Chief of the Defence Staff of the
United Kingdom

Member since
24 August 1949
Admiral
Tony Radakin
of the
 Royal Navy 		United States

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the
United States

Member since
24 August 1949
General
Charles Q. Brown Jr.
of the
 United States Air Force
  1. ^ Excluded from the Committee in 1966–2008.
  2. ^ As West Germany. East Germany became part of NATO after German reunification on 3 October 1990

History

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Until 2008 the Military Committee excluded France, due to that country's 1966 decision to remove itself from NATO's integrated military structure, which it rejoined in 1995. Until France rejoined NATO, it was not represented on the Defence Planning Committee, and this led to conflicts between it and NATO members. Such was the case in the lead up to Operation Iraqi Freedom.[3]

Established in 1949 during the first Council session in Washington, the Military Committee is NATO's highest military authority and advises the NAC and NATO's strategic commanders, the Supreme Allied Commander Transformation and the Supreme Allied Commander Europe.[4]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ NATO Handbook, 50th Anniversary Edition, 1998-99, 234.
  2. ^ International Military Staff, Jun 15, 2017, retrieved Feb 20, 2018.
  3. ^ Fuller, Thomas (18 February 2003). "Reaching accord, EU warns Saddam of his 'last chance'". International Herald Tribune. Archived from the original on 12 October 2007. Retrieved 15 July 2007.
  4. ^ https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_49633.htm, NATO Military Committee, Dec 7, 2017, retrieved Feb 15, 2018.
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