NATO has agreed a major redistribution of leadership responsibilities across its command structure, with European allies set to take control of all three of the Alliance’s Joint Force Commands while the United States retains leadership of NATO’s key theatre component commands.
The changes, agreed by allies on 6 February and announced on 10 February, form part of what NATO described as a shift towards more evenly shared responsibility within the Alliance, while also underlining continued US commitment to NATO command and control.
Under the new arrangement, the United Kingdom will take over command of Joint Force Command Norfolk, while Italy will assume command of Joint Force Command Naples. Both commands are currently led by the United States. Germany and Poland will also share leadership of Joint Force Command Brunssum on a rotational basis.
NATO said the shift means all three Joint Force Commands, the Alliance’s four-star operational headquarters responsible for leading NATO forces in crisis and conflict, will be commanded by European allies. At the same time, the United States will lead all three of NATO’s theatre component commands. This includes taking over responsibility for Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM), while maintaining leadership of Allied Land Command (LANDCOM) and Allied Air Command (AIRCOM).
In a statement, NATO said the changes would be introduced gradually over the coming years, aligned with existing scheduled personnel rotations. The Alliance described the agreement as part of a broader effort to rebalance leadership roles as European allies take on greater responsibility within NATO’s command structure. NATO also emphasised that the United States would continue to play a central role, including retaining the post of Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), traditionally held by a senior US officer.
A NATO spokesperson said the agreement reflected “a shift to more fairly shared responsibility within NATO”, adding that European allies would take on greater leadership roles while the new structure also demonstrated “the US commitment to NATO command and control”.
