JFCN Factsheet - Allied Joint Force Command Naples

As a main characteristic of the new structure, NATO decided that its headquarters would be integrated, multinationally and operationally during peacetime. This was a totally new concept. While Alliance decisions were to be taken at the multi-national level, where individual nations would keep their sovereignty, the executive military organisation adopted the principle of "one man's" leadership. Personnel assigned by the nations to allied commands were to be fully subordinated to their allied commanders assuming, therefore, an "international status." As far as national forces were concerned, each nation would decide which to assign to NATO, which to define "earmarked" to NATO and which to keep permanently for national tasks.

The Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) was formally activated near Paris on 2 April 1951. At the same time the staff and facilities of the Western (European) Union Commanders-in-Chief Committee were placed at SACEUR's disposal. Fourteen to 15 divisions and fewer than 1,000 operational aircraft were available to this command, to deter aggression by the 210 Soviet divisions and their more than adequate air arm.

The next step urgently needed was the creation of regional organisations better able to develop local contingency plans, even if no military forces were at that time assigned to NATO. In the same year, the three European Regional Planning Groups shifted their responsibilities to newly established major subordinate commands: Allied Forces Southern Europe (AFSOUTH), Allied Forces Central Europe (AFCENT) and Allied Forces Northern Europe (AFNORTH). Respectively, these would have been commanded by U.S., French and British officers.

NATO planners, from the beginning, had no doubts that adequate attention was to be paid to the southern flank; not only to comply with the pledge to defend the southern member countries, but also to protect the vital sea line of communication upon which Europe has always depended. In addition, the southern flank was a barrier against Soviet expansionism towards Africa, the Middle East and the Persian Gulf.

European interests in Northern Africa and the Middle East were particularly strong. The United States and Canada also were dependent upon the Mediterranean for shipping from the Indian Ocean, the Far East and, particularly, for the oil traffic from the Persian Gulf. Some of the Allies had a military presence in Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Libya and Egypt. However, the area of application of the Atlantic Treaty has never included the North African littoral. The control and defence of the Algerian Department of France, considered French homeland until its independence in 1962, remained a responsibility of France. There were therefore plenty of reasons for creating a specific command to be in charge of such a complex and different area.

In May 1951 Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower wrote a letter to the Standing Group proposing the appointment of U.S. Adm. Robert Bostwick Carney as Southern Commander, with headquarters in Italy. As a consequence, Naples was a quite obvious choice, in order to allow Carney - who had the national duty of Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Naval Forces Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean, with headquarters in London - to use fleet support for his new headquarters. In a press conference in Paris, on 19 June 1951, Gen. Eisenhower formally announced the appointment of Carney, with effect the same day.

A communiqué' stated that the location for his allied headquarters was to be agreed upon by Italian authorities. His mission, as Commander-in-Chief, Allied Forces Southern Europe (CINCSOUTH), was to defend Southern Europe; but without interfering with the Western Mediterranean commanders, nor with Greece, Turkey and Yugoslavia while initiatives were in progress to consider admission of these countries into the Alliance. Adm. Carney would have also assumed duties as Commander, Allied Naval Forces Southern Europe (COMNAVSOUTH), with a separate staff.

Carney's area of responsibility, therefore, extended from the Western Mediterranean - except the Balearic Islands and Malta - to a line in the Adriatic from Trieste (Italy) to Cape Matapan and to the Tunisian waters. Responsibility to protect the sea lines between France, Corsica and Algeria remained with the French. Similarly, the Italian Navy was in charge of protecting the communications between Italy and her islands.

With the appointment of CINCSOUTH, two other nominations were announced: Italian Army Lt. Gen. Maurizio Lazzaro De Castiglioni was to be Commander, Allied Land Forces Southern Europe; and Maj. Gen. David M. Schlatter, USAF, Commander, Allied Air Forces Southern Europe. Both would be subordinated to Carney. The same communiqué stated that the above decisions had been taken "in the light of the traditional interests and responsibilities of France, Italy and Great Britain, and without any prejudice about the institution of a command system which may be adopted for the whole Mediterranean theatre."

Adm. Carney flew to Rome, where he met the Defence Minister, Mr. Randolfo Pacciardi, and the Foreign Minister, Mr. Carlo Sforza. The morning after, 21 June 1951, he raised his flag on the U.S.S. Mount Olympus, at anchor in the Bay of Naples. During a brief ceremony on board his flagship, Carney read the letter of appointment received from Gen. Eisenhower. He concluded by saying, "Our duty is to protect and safe-guard freedom. We accept this duty with confidence, well conscious of our responsibilities." A twenty-one gun salute from the ship was echoed by the same number from the Italian Navy artillery, marking the marriage between Naples and AFSOUTH -- a marriage blessed by the Italian Premier, Alcide De Gasperi, on whom Carney paid a call the same day.

Adm. Carney had, as he said, great responsibilities, but no organisations to accomplish his mission. The only force available to him for combat was the U.S. Sixth Fleet, put under his operational control as COMNAVSOUTH. Together with his two designated subordinate commanders, his first task was to build a structure able to co-ordinate and control also the other available forces: what remained of the Italian armed forces and some French forces.

The first stone laid in his organisation was the activation, in Verona, of the Headquarters Allied Land Forces Southern Europe (LANDSOUTH), on 10 July 1951. Some three infantry divisions and three brigades were the only forces available to this command to defend northeastern Italy.

Next was the air headquarters, Allied Air Forces Southern Europe (AIRSOUTH), set up in a temporary facility in Florence, on 5 August. Italian, American, French and British personnel staffed this headquarters. Forces available included an Air Tactical Group of the Italian Air Force, equipped with F-47 Thunderbolts and F-51 Mustangs. The group was later dissolved in November 1951 and the 56th Tactical Air Force was established in Vicenza, under the operational control of AIRSOUTH. Its strength consisted of 132 aircraft.

Adm. Carney and his staff could not co-ordinate the growing organisation from the operational rooms of a ship. A temporary home - in an apartment building - was found in Naples, on the hill of Posillipo; and the headquarters opened on 1 September 1951. A symbol of the new Allied command was also selected, the "Lion of Saint Mark," the traditional symbol associated with the ancient Republic of Venice. At the flag dedication ceremony, later that year, Adm. Carney explained the reasons for his choice. "The insignia of the flag is that of the Lion of Saint Mark, a design old and honoured in the Mediterranean, with the design of power - holding open 'the book of peace.’ However, the Lion has a sword poised, indicating that he is willing to maintain that peace."

From the new AFSOUTH headquarters it was possible to enjoy a view of the beautiful Neapolitan landscape, but that could not compensate for the limited dimensions of the building. During the following year a suitable facility for the permanent headquarters was identified nearby: a complex originally built in the Bagnoli district of Naples to provide a home for young people in need. The facility, built in 1930's, was occupied by the Italian War Ministry until 1942 when it was turned over to a Fascist Youth Organisation and, later, to the German troops until 1943.

The first major change in the NATO posture in the Mediterranean was the welcoming of Greece and Turkey into the Alliance on 18 February 1952. By the terms of the basic treaty, this meant recognition that these two European states were "in a position to further the principles of the treaty and to contribute to the security of the North Atlantic area," which, despite its name, included the entire Mediterranean as well. The admission of Greece and Turkey extended eastward the boundaries of AFSOUTH to include all of the Mediterranean and Black Seas and Greece and Turkey landmasses.

On 8 September of the same year, a new land command was established for the eastern areas, the Allied Land Forces Southeastern Europe (LANDSOUTHEAST), whose headquarters were activated in Izmir (Turkey). The area of responsibility stretched from the Caucasus to the western shore of Greece and provided security for 35 million people. A subordinate headquarters, the Thessaloniki (Greece) Advanced Command Post was also activated. The first Commander was Lt. Gen. William G. Wymann, U.S. Army. Both Greece and Turkey committed most of their armies to NATO. The six Southern Region Nations (France, Greece, Italy, Turkey, U.K. and U.S.) were all represented on the LANDSOUTHEAST staff.

The following year, on 14 October 1953, the 6th Allied Tactical Air Force was also established in Izmir, commanded

by Maj. Gen. R.E.L. Easton, USAF, and responsible to AIRSOUTH for the air defence of Greece and Turkey. Three national air organisations were assigned to this subordinate command: the Turkish 1st and 3rd Tactical Air Forces, and the Royal Hellenic 28th Tactical Air Force. In terms of actual forces this meant two Greek wings and four Turkish fighter-bomber groups of F-84 aircraft, plus some B-26A Mosquitoes.

While the Land and Air Commands were building up their own internal organisations, there was still some confusion about Adm. Carney's maritime responsibilities. As mentioned earlier, he was also in charge of the Allied Naval Forces Southern Europe (NAVSOUTH), a command which was not yet independently operational. It was not until December 1951, when French and Italian sub-area naval commands were established in the Mediterranean, that Allied planners found it necessary to set up a separate naval headquarters.

During 1952, several factors influenced the evolution of the allied maritime structure in the Mediterranean. These included: the presence of significant British naval forces in the Mediterranean (these forces were not under Adm. Carney's command but it was assumed they would be available if and when an emergency arose); the accession of Greece and Turkey to NATO; the assumption of Command of the British Mediterranean Fleet by Adm. Louis Mountbatten and the relinquishment of command as SACEUR by Gen. Eisenhower. By the end of 1952, it was proposed to appoint an Allied Commander-in-Chief, Allied Forces Mediterranean (AFMED). He would be a British officer, reporting directly to SACEUR. Another naval command, consisting of the NATO earmarked U.S. Sixth Fleet, would be under an American Adm., responsible to AFSOUTH.

The Mediterranean was divided into areas for the exercise of those functions which were of a local and national nature. The commanders of those areas were responsible to AFMED but were to be under national authorities for parallel national tasks. Agreements concerning the establishment of a French area in the Western Mediterranean and an Italian area covering the approaches to Italy were to remain valid, but within AFMED instead of AFSOUTH. A Gibraltar area was also established, as well as areas in the Central and Eastern Mediterranean.

The AFSOUTH commander remained responsible for the land and air forces, and for the Sixth Fleet, in the new capacity of Allied Naval Striking and Support Forces Southern Europe (STRIKFORSOUTH) whose headquarters was established in Naples on 15 March 1953. The new structure became operational on the same day of the activation in Malta of AFMED, commanded by Adm. Mountbatten, directly subordinate to SACEUR, and charged with the conduct of naval operations - other than those of STRIKFORSOUTH - in the Mediterranean and Black Seas. AFMED was also charged with responsibilities for mine warfare, submarine and anti-submarine operations in this area. At the same time, Adm. Carney was relieved from his NAVSOUTH duties. Finally, air defence remained a responsibility of AIRSOUTH over the whole Mediterranean area.

AIRSOUTH headquarters was co-located with AFSOUTH in May 1953. Its organisation was already well defined, with the Sixth Allied Tactical Air Force (6ATAF) being operational and a similar structure being built in Italy. AFSOUTH included at that time four principal subordinate commands: one air, two land and one naval.

A next important event for the Alliance was the accession of Germany in 1955, almost coinciding with the creation of the Warsaw Pact. The 5th Allied Tactical Air Force (5ATAF) was established in Vicenza, Italy on 1 January 1956, completing the missing link between the 4ATAF in Central Europe and 6ATAF in the southeast.

Finally, to support land defence in the region, the U.S. agreed to establish a task force of some 10,000 personnel in Northern Italy. The U.S. Army "Southern European Task Force" (SETAF) was born on 25 October 1955.

Initially located at Camp Darby, a main logistic base located near Livorno, the SETAF headquarters was moved to Verona and eventually to Vicenza; while the strength of the force was significantly reduced with the Italians receiving the equipment from the disbanded American units. Since 1973 an airborne battalion team has been stationed in Italy and SETAF assigned the mission of readying and deploying this units for Allied Command Europe employment, as part of its Mobile Force (Land).

The year 1956 was full of events which significantly influenced the geostrategic situation in Europe. In February, the opening of the 20th congress of the Soviet Communist Party marked the beginning of the "destalinizations." In March, both Tunisia and Morocco became independent. In July, the President of Egypt Gamal Abd El Nasser nationalised the Suez Canal. In October, the Hungarian people's rebellion started, repressed by a Soviet intervention. Almost simultaneously the Suez crisis was escalated by the Israeli "Sinai campaign" followed by the French-British intervention, which was not approved by the U.S. The Alliance's solidarity seemed to reach the lowest level just as the Cold War was reaching a peak.

The following years saw a growing Soviet political penetration in the Mediterranean, while Western influence in North Africa and the Middle East was noticeably reduced. Cyprus became independent in 1960, followed by Algeria in 1962. Although the discussions between President Eisenhower and Mr. Khrushchev at Camp David in September 1959 had seemed to open the door toward further negotiations, the downing of a U.S. U-2 aircraft over Russian territory caused the next summit to abort. The construction of the Berlin wall in 1961 was a further contribution to increased tension.

The Allies' response to the deterioration of the Berlin situation was an increased allied solidarity and the creation of an Allied Mobile Force (AMF) from units supplied by six different countries. It consisted of a land element of five battalions and an air element of four fighter-bomber attack squadrons.

The size of the force may not have been as impressive as its political meaning was and still is. It was the image of the Allies' resolve, to face together any aggression, which the deployment of the AMF to a crisis area might well have demonstrated. Five out of the seven areas identified for possible deployment of the AMF were in the Southern Region.

The end of 1963 was marked by serious disorder among the Greek and Turkish communities in Cyprus. The NATO Council made every effort to preserve friendship between the two members of the Alliance. In March 1964, the United Nations decided to send a peacekeeping force to the island. In August Greece withdrew its personnel from NATO Headquarters in Izmir. Another Mediterranean island was also a focus of attention in the region. On 21 September 1964, Malta gained independence from the U.K., bringing into question the status of the AFMED headquarters on the island. The continued legal status of the installation was solved over a year later, in a joint statement of the NATO Council and the government of Malta.

Since 1952, AFSOUTH had been composed of an integrated staff from six nations: France, Greece, Italy, Turkey, the United Kingdom and United States. A change became necessary after an official announcement was made by the French government on 29 March 1966: French personnel would withdraw from the NATO integrated military structure, assignment of French forces to international Commands would terminate and all the NATO or allied units or installations would be transferred from French territory by 1 April 1967. The NATO Council, therefore, had to make appropriate modifications to the Allied organisation. As France continued to be a member of the Alliance, a new forum was established to discuss military questions in which France would not participate: the Defence Planning Committee. SHAPE Headquarters was transferred to Belgium, along with the NATO Headquarters. The Central European Command was hosted by the Netherlands, with a German commander, while Italy was asked to provide a new home for the NATO Defence College.

France's withdrawal from the integrated military structure was yet another factor leading to a reorganisation of AFSOUTH. The overall picture of the Mediterranean was totally different from the one which had framed Adm. Carney's efforts. Western influence over the African littoral countries had dramatically decreased. Western forces which had been present in some of these countries had been withdrawn. The political orientation of some littoral countries had shifted towards the left. As a result of the French withdrawal from the integrated military structure of the Alliance, the Southern Region had lost the use of the NATO naval installations at Toulon and Mers-el-Kebir. All these changes occurred just while the Soviets were succeeding in politically and militarily penetrating into the Mediterranean area.

The first permanent deployment of Soviet naval units to the Mediterranean dates from 1964, when four or five units started to show the red flag on this sea. This presence rapidly grew to a level of 40 to 50 units during the following years. At the same time, the Soviets increased their effort to influence the entire area; linking themselves to some littoral countries either through co-operation treaties, or by large-scale sales of military equipment.

NATO military planners were well aware that the allied military structure in the southern flank was no longer adequate to face either the increased threat or the new political and military situation in the Mediterranean basin. In addition, the two Major Commands in the area had overlapping responsibilities. AFSOUTH was responsible for the critical southeastern maritime zone where adjacent land and air operations were under its subordinate commands - LANDSOUTHEAST and 6ATAF. In the same area, naval operations were conducted by commands subordinated to AFMED. Another problem was the proliferation of subordinate commands which increased the need for effective co-ordination.

It was not until 1965 that the Military Committee agreed to the following proposals made by SACEUR on the command structure and boundaries in Southern Europe and in the Mediterranean/Black Sea area:

AFMED was deactivated on 5 June 1967. AFSOUTH became the only Major Subordinate Command in the South. NAVSOUTH was reactivated on the same date, in Malta; and the Commander, Adm. Luciano Sotgiu, Italian Navy, became a principal subordinate commander to AFSOUTH. By the following August, the NATO Defence Planning Committee had approved the reorganisation of the Southern European Command, as proposed by the Military Committee. However, by the time the bureaucratic procedure put into effect the original proposals of 1965, new changes affected the military posture in the area. In addition to the announced withdrawal of French forces from the integrated military structure, the United Kingdom decided to reduce her military presence in the area. And, on Libyan request, the U.S. agreed to withdraw its forces from the important air base of Wheelus Field. The very day AFMED was deactivated, the long-simmering Arab-Israeli conflict sparked a major crisis in countries bordering on its area of responsibility: the "Six Day War."

That was the first opportunity taken by the Soviets to demonstrate their willingness to influence major events in the area by the use of military power. During that crisis the Soviet Mediterranean Squadron numbered up to 70 units, some of which were in Port Said and Alexandria, to prevent Israeli attacks against those ports. The Cold War was getting even colder. The invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968 contributed to the lowering temperature.

For the Mediterranean it was the prelude to Albania renouncing its membership of the Warsaw Pact. Late that year, the MARAIRMED Command was activated in Naples to improve NATO surveillance in the Mediterranean. The Alliance's concern for the never-ending Soviet penetration, by any means, in the Mediterranean basin was reflected in this recognised need for increased vigilance. NATO ministers instructed the Council in permanent session to keep the situation under close review. In the framework of measures studied at a Reykjavik meeting the previous June, the NATO Defence Planning Committee approved, in May 1969, the future establishment of a Naval On-Call Force Mediterranean (NOCFORMED). This maritime force, like the AMF for land and air, was to play an important deterrent role by showing the Allies' solidarity and their determination to put their forces under one flag. Assigned to NAVSOUTH, the On-Call force was activated 43 times between 1970 and 1991, when it was decided to replace it with a permanent force. It initially comprised up to five frigates or destroyers.

A change in Malta's foreign policy was the origin of a major change in AFSOUTH's organisation. Acceding to a request by the Maltese government and following an Italian invitation, NAVSOUTH was moved to Naples in 1971, to facilities on the little island of Nisida previously occupied by the Italian Air Force Academy. Notwithstanding the withdrawal of the headquarters from Malta, NATO signed a seven-year agreement with that government on the use of certain facilities.

Another period of serious tension in the Mediterranean made evident the need for NATO Allies to keep a close watch on events which, even if not in the area covered by the Treaty, were taken by the Soviets as opportunities for military build-up. During the Yom-Kippur War, in October 1973, Soviet Navy units in the Mediterranean were doubled, reaching a peak close to l00 units.

The oil price war that closely followed the end of the fourth Arab-Israeli conflict was a further factor for political instability in the whole area. Against this disturbing background, NATO Ministers had to stress once again the importance for the Alliance to maintain its defensive and deterrent capabilities.

In July 1974 a coup d'etat in Cyprus and a Turkish military action on the island marked a serious crisis in Greek-Turkish relations. A new Greek regime eventually decided to withdraw its forces from the NATO integrated military structure. While the solution of the Cyprus problem, as such, was a matter for the United Nations; the Atlantic Council made every effort to bring about reconciliation between the two NATO allies.

The withdrawal of Greek forces from the integrated structure left the Southern Region's eastern commands with responsibilities over mainly Turkish Forces. It was therefore natural to reinforce the existing co-ordination between NATO and national chains of command, by assigning command responsibility to Turkish officers. On 30 June 1978, the Commanders of Allied Land Forces Southeastern Europe and the Sixth Allied Air Force, both U.S. officers, were replaced in Izmir by colleagues of the hosting nation. Efforts by the Allies to improve the dialogue between Greece and Turkey continued and Greek forces returned to the NATO integrated military structure in October 1980, as the result of a proposal developed by Gen. Bernard W Rogers, the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe.

The year before, NATO's Southern Region had to face a new problem, the expiration of the agreement on the use of military facilities in Malta. British forces had to move off the island and a compromise solution was found, thanks to an Italian mediation. Italy pledged to guarantee Maltese neutrality, while at the same time providing the island with economic assistance. Neutrality meant also denial of access of Soviet warships to Maltese shipyards. Only two years later, in l981, Malta signed an agreement with the Soviet Union for the use of the oil depots previously used by NATO countries. In 1984, while negotiating the renewal of the treaty with Italy, Malta signed an ambiguous agreement with Libya.

Despite the several crises which have affected the Mediterranean area since that time, for many years the Western Allies did not have any reason to further modify their common defensive organisation in the area. Improvements obviously were made, however, to maintain the necessary level of deterrence. Particularly significant has been the acquisition by NATO of the Airborne Warning and Control System. A force of 18 E-3A aircraft with its long-range airborne radars and the use of three forward deployment bases in the Southern Region covered the gaps in the air defence radar system. This was a significant improvement because the air threat had always been one of the most dangerous for the Southern Region.

Another significant change in the Southern Region's contribution to European defence was the deployment in Sicily of cruise missiles. In 1979 the Alliance had to realise that Soviet development of missiles such as the SS-20s and bombers like the nuclear-capable Backfire, were reinforcing the Warsaw Pact superiority in long-range nuclear forces. NATO adopted the so-called "dual track," to modernise her intermediate nuclear forces by deploying Pershing and cruise missiles and withdrawing a great number of older nuclear weapons. NATO also offered nations the opportunity to negotiate a verifiable agreement on armament reduction, which would have made the actual deployment of the new western missiles unnecessary. Italy, as well as other allied countries, accepted her share of the burden of hosting of some of these missiles. Since 1983, a part of this new deterrent arsenal was deployed in the AFSOUTH area, but this headquarters had no direct control over these weapons, eventually dismantled under the Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty.

A sign of the changing times in the 1980s was the new growing threat posed by international terrorism. AFSOUTH itself was directly affected with the kidnapping of a senior officer of the LANDSOUTH staff, Brig. Gen. James Lee Dozier, in 1981. The Italian Police rescued Brig. Gen. Dozier 42 days later, but it was clear that an international escalation of terrorism was in progress.

This escalation eventually led to the U.S.-Libya confrontation in 1986. That confrontation included an event which in theory created the conditions for Italy to claim the application of the provisions of the North Atlantic Treaty, when SCUD missiles were fired with the improbable intent to hit a U.S. Coast Guard communication facility on the island of Lampedusa. Italy chose not to call for a NATO response.

The Alliance policy was to deem any terrorist action a threat against its citizens which may jeopardize democratic institutions as well as normal international relationships -- a threat which required a new type of allied co-ordination. This policy was a sign of the changing roles of the Alliance, gradually shifting towards broader transatlantic co-ordination also in matters not directly affecting common defence.

The line of determination always followed by the 16 NATO nations has not always been easy to maintain, but has paid in tremendous dividends. The Euromissiles dispute was a case in point. We now know that the political risks taken, at a moment of Alliance fragility, to continue the deployment of INF missiles was the winning card which caused the collapse of the Soviet long-term strategy.

The international security situation, fostered by decades of NATO unity and Western economic progress - as compared to the internal Soviet economic drama - created the conditions for the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan in 1988 and Gorbachev's era of transition from confrontation to co-operation with the West.

The second half of the 1980's also saw some clear improvements in NATO's capabilities in the South. Spain became the 16th member of the Alliance and, even if not integrated into the military structure, started its military co-operation and participation in Southern Region exercises. These exercises, also strong catalysts for co-operation, started to often see participation by half of the NATO allies.

Eventually the improving co-operation with Spain led to the assignment (on 5 April 1990) of a Spanish Liaison Officer to AFSOUTH. There had also for years been a French Military mission - led by a Rear Adm. - and a Portuguese Liaison Officer.

During the 1980's, modernisation programs developed by all the regional countries significantly improved overall defence capabilities. Even though in several areas still years behind the Central Region in terms of modern forces, the situation was so improved that it allowed a Commander-in-Chief to suggest a "strategic leverage" role for the Southern Region. This referred to the pressure he would be able to exercise against the Southern Soviet Union, in the event of a Soviet aggression against Central Europe.

But scenarios continued to change, as did the political and socio-economic landscape surrounding the Mediterranean area. Popular demonstrations in Bulgaria and Romania led to dramatic regime changes. Hungary opened its western borders. The Berlin Wall came down. NATO offered new relationships to Central and Eastern European nations. The Warsaw Pact ceased to exist on 31 March 1991.

The early 1990s might be termed an era of post-transition. Arms control was the preferred route to build a safer European security environment. AFSOUTH played an important role in the process by indicating the specific problems and needs of the Mediterranean area, while adapting once again to a changing security environment.

Never more than after the collapse of the Soviet Union did the whole of Europe have the feeling of how important the stability of the Mediterranean was for its own security, and of the emerging threats against this region. This acknowledgement was reflected in a statement made by Mr. Manfred Woerner, NATO's Secretary Gen., before Turkish academicians in October 1990:

"...Europe is by no means a heaven of security yet. The fate of glasnost and perestroika is still uncertain, and it is an open question where the dramatic current developments in the Soviet Union and in the Balkans will ultimately lead. Notwithstanding all our encouragement and concrete assistance, we equally cannot yet tell if the courageous revolutions of the peoples of central and Eastern Europe, driven by the quest for freedom, will actually produce successful democracies and economic reforms. In many places old ethnic problems, border disputes and power struggles have reared their head. Nationalism, a force we believed was approaching extinction, is trumpeting its resurrection with fanfare in many parts of Europe. These uncertainties affect the security of our Alliance Southern region even more than Central Europe. It therefore becomes all the more essential for our Alliance to keep developments here in the Mediterranean under careful scrutiny and to be on our guard that the security of our southern member states remains as solid and as indivisible as that of all the other states."

The term "out-of-area," for years a taboo if associated with NATO, became a matter of open discussion at political level. The President of the North Atlantic Assembly, Mr. Patrick Duffy, suggested that NATO should start coping directly with events affecting its security, no matter if outside of its borders. The Persian Gulf crisis gave ample evidence of this reality.

The War in the Gulf was not far from the AFSOUTH area of responsibility and, at least emotionally, everybody in the Southern Region felt affected. NATO as such was not involved but the chances for an eventual involvement could not be ruled out.

As a matter of fact, on that occasion the Alliance - by a decision taken by the Supreme Allied Commander Europe - took the first ever initiative linked, however indirectly, with an event occurring outside of the area covered by Atlantic treaty. The authorisation to extend the routine training activation of the Naval On-Call Force Mediterranean, so as to be able to operate it in the Eastern Mediterranean also as a compensation for the absence of NATO units deployed to the Persian Gulf area, was a further sign of the continuing and changing role NATO was to play in its southern European flank.

For the first time in its 40 year history AFSOUTH conducted or co-ordinated a large number of activities to assure the deterrence needed to prevent extension of a conflict into the Treaty area or to respond promptly should deterrence fail. The attention of NATO commanders had been high since 2 August 1990 but of course the apex was reached in middle January 1991 when it became clear that only by force was it possible to obtain from Iraq acceptance of the enforcement of the many decisions taken by the United Nations to restore international legality.

A number of NATO decisions without precedents marked the beginning of 1991. As early as 2 January, the Defence Planning Committee (DPC) decided to deploy to the air component of the Allied Mobile Force (AMF) to Southeast Turkey. The AMF consisted of aircraft from the Belgian, German and Italian air forces, "to demonstrate the collective solidarity and determination of the Alliance in the face of any potential threat to allied territory and thus contribute to deterrence and defence." Never before had the AMF been deployed for reasons different from training.

Meanwhile, the NATO Naval On-Call Force Mediterranean had been kept activated by the Supreme Allied Commander Europe for what already was its longest ever activation. When military operations started in the Gulf, this force was ordered to return at sea to conduct "training and surveillance;" again another "first" operational mission for a NATO force.

The DPC also decided to send mine counter measure vessels of the Standing Naval Force Channel to the Central Mediterranean, "to protect the safety of shipping and freedom of navigation in this vital area." At that time STANAVFORCHAN consisted of ships from Belgium, Germany, The Netherlands, Norway and the United Kingdom.

These were the more visible of several collective alliance efforts through which AFSOUTH contributed to deterrence against any potential threat to allied territory or interest. The name given to these activities was "Southern Guard" - the first ever NATO operation - and its goal was to put in place prudent, effective measures able to provide valuable responses to a wide range of potential threats. From Gibraltar to Eastern Turkey, NATO and national forces created a friendship chain conducting extensive training. At the same time they were monitoring traffic of interest, at sea or in the air, where the NATO Airborne Early Warning E-3A aircraft almost continuously provided their extended monitoring capability.

The AMF(A) deployed 42 aircraft with more than 300 personnel to Diyarbakir and Erhac, Turkey. Later on, air defence assets strengthened the air defence of those bases. Germany deployed I-HAWK and Roland missile systems, while I-HAWK and Patriot systems were brought in from The Netherlands. In addition, command and control, communication, surveillance and civil defence capabilities in Southern Turkey were improved.

Maritime surveillance was conducted throughout the Mediterranean, where Southern Region NATO forces were augmented by several units from the German Navy and by STANAVFORCHAN. Early in February there were as many as 17 German ships in the Mediterranean, all under NATO operational control. These included a task group with four combatants and two auxiliaries, a mine counter measures force with five minehunters and one oiler, plus two ships each in NAVOCFORMED and STANAVFORCHAN, for a total of about 2000 men.

STANAVFORCHAN entered the Mediterranean early in February and soon reached an area South of Sicily where it started conducting preventive anti-mine surveillance. A similar activity was also conducted elsewhere by Mine Counter Measures (MCM) forces from France, Italy, Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain and Turkey; all under NATO co-ordination.

As a necessary complement of the ships' surveillance capability, a number of Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) also were used. MPA aircraft from Germany, Greece, Italy, The Netherlands, Turkey and the United States operated directly under NATO's operational control; while MPAs from France, Spain and the United Kingdom co-ordinated their missions with NATO.

Finally, all navies and air forces from NATO nations present in the Mediterranean contributed to Southern Guard. This included British, French, Greek, Italian, Spanish, Turkish and U.S. forces, with their component of embarked naval aviation. All together, several thousand people were on continuous watch to demonstrate NATO's solidarity and determination to defend Alliance territory and interests. This complex deterrent required extended, effective management. Most of the NATO headquarters in the Southern Region contributed to what Adm. Jonathan Howe; their Commander in Chief termed as "Exercise Dragon Hammer," "Display Determination" and all our routine exercises combined altogether."

The achieved results -- there was no specific hostility act against NATO -- were reflected in the motto selected for the AFSOUTH 40th anniversary: "1951-1991: the triumph of freedom." In the words of SACEUR, Gen. John Galvin, Operation Southern Guard was."...the symbol of the new emerging NATO strategy of flexibility, multinationality and the capability to act in a crisis."

While AFSOUTH was concentrating on its deterrence mission, the European transition towards a new security environment continued. By March 1991 all Cruise and Pershing II missiles were removed from Europe. In May, the Yugoslav Defence Minister declared that his country was in a state of civil war. Albania’s communists decided to authorise political opposition. The Balkans gradually became the focus of international attention.

As a direct consequence of the experience from Southern Guard, more nations decided to be represented at AFSOUTH. First, The Netherlands, which opened a liaison office on 30 September 1991, eventually followed by Germany and Canada.

The AFSOUTH headquarters was at the time closely following the evolutions of the situation in Yugoslavia while it had launched a very ambitious co-operation program with Central and Eastern European non-NATO neighbours.

A new NATO strategy was formally adopted in Rome on 7-8 November 1991, where Heads of State or Government issued a formal Declaration on Peace and Co-operation. Later in the year the North Atlantic Co-operation Council was activated, with participation initially of nine non-NATO countries. Adm. Mike Boorda, as CINCSOUTH, visited Bulgaria on 1 February 1992. This was the first of a series of contacts which quickly moved from senior to intermediate level and involved other nations like Romania, Moldova, Ukraine and Albania.

The new strategic concept called for stress to be put on multinational forces. The first concrete step was made in Naples on 30 April 1992, when the Standing Naval Force Mediterranean (STANAVFORMED) was activated, replacing the old on-call force, NAVOCFORMED. Comprised of eight frigates or destroyers (from Germany, Greece, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom and United States) this force is part of NATO’s immediate reaction forces and operates mainly in the Mediterranean Sea.

The situation which significantly marked the life and future of AFSOUTH were the events following the collapse of the Yugoslav Federation and eventually the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina. NATO’s involvement began with a political statement made in February 1992, calling on all parties to respect cease-fire arrangements in order to allow deployment of United Nations peacekeepers. In July, the United States launched the operation "Provide Promise," to deliver supplies to Bosnia-Herzegovina.

On 10 July 1992 the Foreign Ministers of the North Atlantic Alliance discussed, at Helsinki, the NATO contribution to the monitoring of sanctions mandated by the United Nations Security Council Resolutions. Welcoming the Western European Union's (WEU) Ministers' decision to establish a naval monitoring force, they agreed on a corresponding NATO force to be drawn from NATO's Standing Naval Force Mediterranean. They also required the NATO force to act in close co-operation and co-ordination with the Western European Union naval force. Another ‘first’ for NATO was to take place in the southern region.

At the time of this decision the ships of STANAVFORMED were making a routine port call at Lisbon, Portugal. The Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), Gen. John Shalikashvili, directed the ships to deploy to the Ionian Sea to be prepared for future operations. By the evening of 11 July all the ships had left port en-route to the Ionian Sea.

On 15 July the North Atlantic Council and NATO's Defence Planning Committee (DPC) finalised the arrangements for implementing the decisions taken by the Alliance Foreign Ministers at Helsinki. The Council agreed that the NATO force based on STANAVFORMED should commence operations at 0800 local time on 16 July 1992. By direction of the DPC, the NATO units were ordered to conduct "surveillance, identification and reporting of maritime traffic in areas to be defined in international waters in the Adriatic Sea."

On 16 July -- less than five days from the first warning -- the first units of STANAVFORMED entered the Adriatic and commenced their monitoring role in international waters. This Operation was given the name "Maritime Monitor" and it complemented the parallel linked operations conducted by WEU forces, named "Sharp Vigilance." STANAVFORMED started patrolling an area in international waters off the Montenegro coast on 16 July 1992.

Prior and subsequent to the start of the mission, detailed co-ordination arrangements were worked out between NATO and WEU military officials both for patrol aircraft and for surface ships. These included co-ordination of areas of responsibility, methods of operation, communications, support and re-supply. NATO Airborne Early Warning (NAEW) aircraft provided all the involved international units with operational connectivity, including an air radar picture which was integrated with the surveillance conducted by the various Maritime Patrol Aircraft, helicopters and ships on patrol.

Since 15 October, this activity had been conducted together with air monitoring operations in support of the UN Resolution 781, which established a ban on military flights in the air space of Bosnia-Herzegovina; with the exception for those conducted by the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) or in support of UN operations, including humanitarian assistance. NATO agreed to provide the UN with air space monitoring assistance by extending the role of the NATO Airborne Early Warning Aircraft that had been assisting in naval monitoring operations in the Adriatic. The air space monitoring aspect of the combined operation was called operation "Sky Monitor." Information collected as a result of NAEW Force monitoring of the air space was provided to UN authorities. The additional monitoring activity started on 16 October 1992 in respect of the NAEW orbit over the Adriatic. On 31 October an additional NAEW orbit was commenced over Hungary, as the Hungarian government had agreed to the establishment of an air orbit in its air space, and the Austrian government had authorised aircraft transit through its airspace. These were the first ever NATO out-of-area air operational activities.

Operation "Maritime Monitor" ended on 22 November 1992 at 1600 GMT when NATO forces commenced enforcement operations in support of the UN Security Council Resolution 787. This new operation was named "Maritime Guard." This operation was co-ordinated with WEU forces (WEU Operation "Sharp Fence"). All ships bound to or from the territorial waters of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) were halted to inspect and verify their cargoes and destinations, as were all ships proceeding to all other ports of the former Yugoslavia.

Since 31 December 1992, in co-operation with Albanian authorities NATO warships were granted unrestricted access to Albanian territorial waters for the purpose of embargo enforcement. This additional aspect of the overall NATO operation was given the name "Albanian Guard" and represented the first NATO out-of-area naval operation.

On 17 April 1993 the UN Security Council approved its resolution 820, which strengthened the previous resolutions to include additional restrictions to the merchant traffic to and from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) and authorised the use of force to implement that decision. The NATO maritime forces operating in the Adriatic Sea started enforcing this resolution on 29 April 1993.

Shortly before, on 31 March 1993, the UN resolution 816 had extended the air ban to cover all flights not authorised by UNPROFOR and authorised member states to take all necessary measures, in event of further violations, to ensure compliance with the ban. The North Atlantic Council (NAC) approved NATO's plans for the enforcement of the ban on 8 April 1993. NATO Operation "Deny Flight" was set to begin at noon GMT on Monday, 12 April 1993 with aircraft from France, the Netherlands and the United States.

At a NATO Foreign Ministers meeting on 10 June 1993, in response to UN Security Council Resolution 836, it was also agreed NATO would provide protective air power in case of attacks against UNPROFOR in Bosnia-Herzegovina. This led to the deployment of additional ground-attack aircraft to the Southern Region.

With the option to use military force to enforce the embargo the conduct of two parallel but separate operations was no longer operationally effective. Therefore, a joint NATO/WEU Operation "Sharp Guard" began on 15 June 1993, to replace operations "Maritime Guard" and "Sharp Fence.". From that day "Sharp Guard" forces, under Combined Task Force 440 (CTF 440), prevented all unauthorised shipping from entering the territorial waters of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) and all arms from entering the former Yugoslavia. This operation was coupled by a parallel WEU operation on the Danube River.

Notwithstanding the effectiveness of the maritime embargo the ground situation in Bosnia did not improve as expected. On 2 August 1993, the NAC decided to make immediate preparations for stronger measures, including air strikes, against those responsible for the strangulation of Sarajevo and other areas in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and for wide-scale interference with humanitarian assistance.

On 9 February 1994, the NAC issued an ultimatum: heavy weapons either not removed in 10 days from a 20 km. exclusion zone around Sarajevo or turned over to UN control would be subject to NATO air strikes, to be conducted in close co-ordination with the UN Secretary General. Furthermore, it authorised CINCSOUTH to launch air strikes, at the request of the UN, against artillery or mortar positions in or around Sarajevo (including outside the exclusion zone) which were determined by the UNPROFOR to be responsible for attacks against civilian targets in that city. The efforts of NATO and the UN resulted in the withdrawal of heavy weapons from Sarajevo or the placing of them under UN control.

On 28 February 1994, four NATO fighters shot down four fixed-wing aircraft violating the UN "No-Fly" zone. NATO Airborne Early Warning aircraft detected unknown tracks South of Banja Luka early that morning. Two NATO aircraft were vectored to the area and intercepted six GALEB/JASTREB aircraft. In accordance with the rules of engagement, two "land or exit the No-Fly Zone or be engaged" orders were issued which were ignored. While this was happening the violating aircraft dropped bombs. The NATO fighters engaged the planes, shooting down three of them. A second pair of NATO fighters arrived and shot down a fourth violator. The remaining two violators left the airspace of Bosnia-Herzegovina. The first NATO combat operation had taken place.

On 22 April 1994, the NAC decided that if the UN safe areas of Bihac, Srebrenica, Tuzla or Zepa were attacked by heavy weapons from any range; or there was a concentration or movement of such weapons within 20 km of these areas, then they would be declared military exclusion zones. NATO would back up such declarations with air power. It also decided that the Bosnian Serb actions around the Gorazde safe area met the conditions identified by NATO on 2 August 1993 as grounds for air strikes. It required the Bosnian Serbs to immediately cease attacks against the safe area and to pull their forces back 3 km from the centre of the city by 0001 GMT on 24 April 1994 and from that time to allow UNPROFOR and humanitarian assistance free access to the city. Additionally, it declared a 20 km military exclusion zone around Gorazde and required all Bosnian Serb heavy weapons to be withdrawn by 0001 GMT on 27 April 1994. As a result of UN and NATO co-operation, effective compliance with the NATO ultimatums occurred and air strikes were not required.

Air strikes were instead required on other occasions. On 5 August 1994, the Bosnian Serb Army (BA) seized a number of heavy weapons from the Ilidza Weapons Collection site in the Sarajevo Exclusion Zone, despite having been warned by UNPROFOR not to do so. At the request of UNPROFOR, NATO launched aircraft on the afternoon of 5 August to attack heavy weapons that were violating the Sarajevo Exclusion Zone. Two U.S. A-10 aircraft attacked an M-18 Tankbuster. Following the air strike the BA returned the heavy weapons they had taken. The air strike option against limited targets was used in several other circumstances.

However, it was only after the London Conference on 25 July 1995 that NATO commanders were authorised to plan for a more effective use of the offensive air power. As a consequence, on 30 August 1995, NATO aircraft began a series of airstrikes on Bosnian Serb military targets, after UN commanders determined that a mortar attack on the UN-designated safe area of Sarajevo on 28 August 1995 came from a Bosnian Serb position. During this air strike operation, called "Deliberate Force," a French Mirage jet with two crewmembers was shot down by a surface-to-air missile near Pale. The Bosnian Serbs eventually returned the crew on 12 December 1995. Airstrikes continued until early on 1 August 1995, when UN and NATO commanders decided to temporarily suspend them to permit meetings between UN and Bosnian Serb officials.

On 5 September 1995, NATO aircraft resumed attacks on Bosnian-Serb military targets in Bosnia and, on 10 September 1995, a U.S. Navy ship launched Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles (T-LAMs) against Bosnian Serb air defence assets in northwestern Bosnia. Thirteen missiles were launched by the U.S.S Normandy on station in the Adriatic.

On 14 September 1995, at 2000 GMT, air strikes were suspended to allow the implementation of an agreement with Bosnian Serbs, to include the withdrawal of heavy weapons from the Sarajevo exclusion zone. The initial 72-hour suspension was eventually extended to 114 hours.

On 20 September 1995, Gen. Bernard Janvier (Commander, UNPF) and Adm. Leighton Smith (CINCSOUTH), agreed that, at the end of the suspension period, resumption of the air strikes of Operation "Deliberate Force" were not necessary, as Bosnian Serbs had complied with the conditions set out by the UN.

While operations "Deny Flight" and "Sharp Guard" were in progress, AFSOUTH planners worked day and night to be ready to support a wide range of operational options to help solve the situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina. After an initial study aimed at defining what force would be needed to impose cessation of hostilities; an initial formal plan was produced based on the assumption that a peace plan, brokered by the special envoys Vance and Owen, would succeed. NATO would have deployed a force to make sure that the plan was indeed implemented. Unfortunately, no agreement was reached and AFSOUTH planners were directed to produce a new contingency plan to be prepared to assist the withdrawal of UN peacekeepers from Bosnia-Herzegovina. Eventually, as a consequence of the air strikes of "Deliberate Force." This plan was not used, but it constituted the basis for a third major plan, designed in parallel with the negotiations which led to the Dayton Peace Accords.

In the light of the peace agreement initialled in Dayton on 21 November 1995, the North Atlantic Council authorised on 1 December 1995 the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) to deploy Enabling Forces into Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. SACEUR tasked the Commander-in-Chief Southern Europe to assume control of assigned NATO land, air and maritime forces as the Commander if the Implementation Force (IFOR) and employ them as part of the enabling force. Movement of these forces began on 2 December 1995.

On 5 December 1995, NATO Foreign and Defence Ministers endorsed the military planning for the Implementation Force (IFOR). On the same day the Acting Secretary General announced that 14 non-NATO countries - which had expressed interest in participating - would be invited to contribute to the IFOR. These countries were Austria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Pakistan, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden and Ukraine. All the NATO nations with armed forces pledged to contribute forces to IFOR. Iceland provided medical personnel.

The Peace Agreement (General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina) was formally signed in Paris on 14 December 1995. On 15 December 1995, the United Nation Security Council authorised a multinational military Implementation Force (IFOR), under unified command and control and composed of ground, air and maritime units from NATO and non-NATO nations. The IFOR was to ensure compliance with the relevant provisions of the Peace Agreement.

On 16 December 1995, the NAC approved the overall plan for the Implementation Force and directed that NATO commence operation "Joint Endeavour" and begin deploying the main Implementation Force into Bosnia that same day. The Force had a unified command and was NATO-led, under the political direction and control of the NAC and under the overall military authority of NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe, General George Joulwan; the responsibility as Commander-in- Theatre was assigned to Admiral Leighton W. Smith, Commander-in-Chief Allied Forces Southern Europe, who assumed command of IFOR. The deploying land forces were put under the command of the ACE Rapid Reaction Corps, led by LtGen Sir Michael Walker.

The IFOR mission was to monitor and enforce compliance with the military aspects of the Peace Agreement. UNSCR 1031 provided the mandate for a one-year IFOR mission as described in the agreement. The NAC authorised IFOR for this period. The military tasks included:

They were all smoothly carried out. In addition, the deployment of the IFOR created a more secure environment which facilitated the work of humanitarian organisations and the accomplishment of the non-military aspects of the settlement.

The transfer of authority from the Commander of UN Peace Forces to the Commander of IFOR took place on 20 December, effective at 11 a.m. local time. On that day; after all NATO and non-NATO forces participating in the operation came under the command and/or control of the IFOR commander, Adm. Leighton Smith; over 17,000 troops were available to IFOR.

On 18 February 1996 SACEUR reported the completion of the initial deployment of IFOR to the NATO Secretary General. Thirty-two nations had been part of the deployment, with nearly 50,000 troops provided by NATO nations and approximately 10,000 provided by non-NATO contributor. The movement of IFOR had involved more than 2,800 airlift missions, some 400 trains and more than 50 cargo ships.

The following non-NATO countries contributed to the deployment of IFOR: Albania, Austria, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Jordan, Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Morocco, Poland, Romania, the Russian Federation, Sweden and the Ukraine. Slovakia contributed civilian personnel.

On 18 June 1996 the UN Security Council lifted the heavy weapons embargo on the Former Yugoslavia. As a consequence, the NATO/WEU embargo enforcement operation "Sharp Guard" was suspended. For more than three years, NATO and WEU had effectively enforced both economic sanctions and an arms embargo. This helped contain the conflict in the former Yugoslavia and create the conditions for the Peace Agreement for Bosnia and Herzegovina. During "Sharp Guard" no ships were reported as having broken the embargo. To achieve this result (during the period 22 November 1992 to 18 June 1996) about 74,000 ships were challenged, almost 6,000 were inspected at sea and more than 1,400 were diverted and inspected in port.

On 31 July 1996 Adm. T. Joseph Lopez relieved Adm. Leighton Smith as the Commander of IFOR. On 18 September 1996 the NATO Secretary General announced that the NAC agreed to new command arrangements for IFOR, to allow for the phased withdrawal of Headquarters ARRC and Headquarters AFSOUTH from Bosnia and Herzegovina and their replacement by a Headquarters based on Allied Land Forces Central Europe (LANDCENT). Purpose of this reorganisation was to prepare for the execution of the last phase of the IFOR’s mission and the eventual redeployment of forces following completion of their mission.

On 1 October 1996 the United Nation Security Council adopted Resolution 1074, which provided for the termination of sanctions against Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, once the elections provided for in the Dayton Peace Agreement were held. As a consequence, NATO and WEU formally terminated operation "Sharp Guard."

On 7 November 1996, in accordance with a NAC decision for the execution of the last phase of IFOR’s mission, Headquarters AFSOUTH transferred its command authority to Headquarters LANDCENT which became the new commanding Headquarters of operation "Joint Endeavour" in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The land force was renamed "Stabilisation Force" (SFOR).

Commanding IFOR in Bosnia thrust AFSOUTH into the forefront of NATO’s emerging strategic concept, making very clear the reinforced importance of NATO forces in fostering peace and stability in Europe. It also demonstrated NATO’s ability to work side by side with non-NATO nations and the importance of military alliances and coalitions in building understanding and stability in an era of increased tensions and military downsizing.

The importance of being capable of militarily containing a crisis was shown by the results achieved by Operation "Alba," conducted in Albania under Italian leadership. "Alba" included nations which had shared with AFSOUTH the IFOR/SFOR experience. Since turning over responsibility of IFOR, AFSOUTH headquarters refocused its attention on the entire southern region. Briefly stated, its goals included: increasing the political cohesion and operational effectiveness

within the southern region; improving the deterrent and collective defence capabilities of forces; developing crisis management and peace support operations capabilities and enhancing regional stability by dialogue and military co-operation.

A new perception had developed throughout NATO: the southern region embodied NATO’s forward presence, with an area of responsibility that stretched west to east from the Atlantic approaches to the Mediterranean to the Black Sea and the Middle East coastline; and north to south from the Alps to the North African coast. This is an area almost surrounded by actual or potential instabilities.

In order to foster stability after the Bosnia experience, AFSOUTH started refocusing on dialogue and co-operation activities. These include port visits by STANAVFORMED to several non-NATO ports in the Mediterranean and Black Seas and a number exercises with NATO and Partnership for Peace (PfP) forces. In 1997 high level and staff working visits, training, exercises, seminars, conferences by AFSOUTH and principal subordinate commands involved 18 of NATO’s 27 partner nations. In many cases these activities have opened new ground for co-operation. For instance,

In "Co-operative Neighbour ‘97:"
--- The first full-fledged PfP exercise was conducted in Ukraine;

--- AFSOUTH exercised/trained troops in executing missions related to peace support operations including planning and implementation of a peace plan, civil-military co-operation, humanitarian assistance, medical evacuation, mine awareness, convoy escorting procedures and air drop operations.

Earlier in 1997, AFSOUTH conducted a very complex command-post exercise (Dynamic Action ‘97) from its Naples headquarters with NATO participation throughout the Mediterranean.

Finally from 23 September to 9 October 1997, the largest live exercise ever conducted by AFSOUTH was held. Called "Dynamic Mix," it included the participation of Greece as a participant and a host for the first time since 1982.

On 10 April 1997 AFSOUTH became the first NATO command to establish a world-wide web address on the Internet.

AFSOUTH next expanded its horizons far beyond those of Cold War planning. The new strategic vision required a dynamic approach to regional challenges and a focus on promotion of regional economic, political and military stability. While exploiting co-operation and dialogue, AFSOUTH continued to prepare for new policy and missions, to include peace support, multinational coalition and crisis management operations.

The growing importance of AFSOUTH was reflected in NATO Secretary General Javier Solana’s words during a visit at AFSOUTH on 5 December 1997: "As you know, a few days ago we have approved in Brussels, in a very important meeting, a new command structure for NATO. Without any doubt, I would like to underline that this headquarters, AFSOUTH, and this region, the Southern Region, will, in this new commanding structure, play a much more important role than in the past."

The year 1998 continued to see AFSOUTH committed in reasserting its regional role through a number of activities. These included field exercises, like "Dynamic Response," which brought a Strategic Reserve Force into Bosnia as a reminder of the overall power backing NATO forces in that country. A series of field and computer-assisted exercises – to include the Co-operative series within PfP - saw NATO forces deploying during the year throughout the region, from Spain to Turkey and into Partner nations.

The training program included another positive development towards improved interoperability within the region.

Exercise "Dynamic Mix ‘98" (DM98) showed AFSOUTH’s military might in one of its largest annual training endeavours encompassing, for the first time since 1982, joint activities on the soil of the three southern region NATO nations (exercise DM 98 ran Oct. 1-21, in the host nations of Greece, Italy and Turkey with forces from 11 NATO nations including Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom and U.S.). Approximately 5,000 soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines were part of DM 98, along with 62 ships and 170 aircraft, under the direction of CINCSOUTH. Personnel, weapons and platforms were tested and trained in a variety of military operations, including a full amphibious off-load and back-load of the 2^nd U.S. Marine Expeditionary Force (II MEF) at Iskenderun, Turkey. About 2,500 troops were involved, part of which -- about 400 marines and 61 vehicles -- were moved to a training area to conduct land operations and live fire training. Additional multinational amphibious operations were conducted off the Italian shores of Sardinia and at Doganbey in Turkey. In the hillsides of Northern Greece, members of the Greek 71st Infantry Brigade conducted a simulated humanitarian mission with other allied units. Meanwhile, Allied Land Forces Southern Europe conducted training in a peace support operation practising simulated assistance to 2,000 displaced persons, to include the build up of a refugee camp.

THE CRISIS IN KOSOVO

Of particular relevance were also short-notice exercises conducted in Albania, with the implicit aim to demonstrate NATO's commitment to stability in the entire Balkan area, at a moment when a new crisis was developing within the former Yugoslavian province of Kosovo. To send a clear message that no option was ruled out by NATO, from June to August 1998 AFSOUTH brought STANAVFORMED ships to visit the port of Durres; conducted an air presence exercise ("Determined Falcon") over the skies of Albania and former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (2); and deployed land troops and aircraft to Albania with exercise "Co-operative Assembly." To show a broader NATO commitment, Headquarters Allied Forces Northwest Europe also conducted an exercise in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (2) the same summer.

Adm. James O. Ellis, Jr., assumed command of AFSOUTH on 9 October 1998. By that time the situation in Kosovo had deteriorated to a point requiring AFSOUTH to conduct extensive planning in order to be prepared for any mission NATO might assign the headquarters to help stop the violence. Building on lessons learned during the experience in Bosnia, AFSOUTH planners identified a wide range of possible military options; following with utmost attention all the efforts made by the international community to restore a safe environment in Kosovo, where over 300,000 people had been forced to leave their home.

A turning point was marked on 23 September 1998 when the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1199, demanding all parties in Kosovo to end hostilities and maintain a cease-fire. Lack of compliance with the resolution was the basis for a decision by the North Atlantic Council to issue an "activation order" on 13 October for an air operation – "Determined Force (the AFSOUTH operation order under SACEUR's plan Allied Force)" - aimed at preparing NATO forces to conduct both "limited air strikes" and a "phased air campaign" in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The execution of these air strike options was initially set to begin not earlier than 96 hours from the authorisation of the activation order, to allow time for negotiations between US Ambassador Richard Holbrooke and FRY President Slobodan Milosevic to bear fruit.

On 14 October, NATO's Standing Naval Force Mediterranean was detached to the Adriatic, as further evidence of NATO's commitment. One day earlier the Supreme Allied Commander Europe and the Chief of Gen. Staff of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia had signed an agreement in Belgrade establishing an air verification mission complementing an OSCE verification mission in Kosovo, where the FRY pledged to comply with UNSC resolutions.

Mr. Milosevic committed to cease hostilities and withdraw mobilised forces in Kosovo. Furthermore, he pledged to allow the international community to verify compliance by all parties with the provisions of UNSC Resolution 1199. This was to be conducted through NATO unarmed flights and the deployment in Kosovo of a Verification Mission provided by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

As the 96-hour deadline for compliance with the negotiated settlement approached, the international community had clear evidence that Yugoslavia was still some distance from full compliance with the terms of the accord. While diplomatic efforts continued to secure full compliance, NATO decided to extend the period before execution of air strikes would begin. The extension gave Mr. Milosevic until 27 October 1998 to comply fully with UNSCR 1199. NATO additionally decided to maintain its readiness to launch air operations against the FRY, to include continuing deployment of substantial air forces in the region.

Just prior to the end of this extension on 27 October, evidence indicated that Serbian military and security forces had made progress toward the demanded restraint and withdrawal. Despite the substantial steps, NATO's objective remained to achieve full compliance with UNSC resolutions. As a result, NATO decided to maintain both activation orders in place, with execution subject to decision by the North Atlantic Council.

Meanwhile, starting on 17 October, U-2 verification flights were flown from Aviano air base, Italy. A new plan was produced and the NATO air verification mission – "Operation Eagle Eye" - commenced on 21 October, shortly before the UNSC adopted Resolution 1203, which formally supported NATO and OSCE verification missions.

Eventually, a Kosovo Verification Co-ordination Centre was established in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (2). Meanwhile, AFSOUTH kept the "Determined Force" plan on hold, ready to conduct air strikes at short notice, in case of continued non-compliance. In parallel, the Contact Group mediated extenuating negotiations in the attempt to get all parties to sign a peace agreement, while AFSOUTH monitored that activity in order to be ready to help implement such an agreement.

The Kosovo Verification Mission (KVM) lasted several months, during which NATO also deployed an "extraction force" to the former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia (2), under Operation "Determined Guarantor," to be ready to extract OSCEKVM Verifiers and/or persons with designated special status in Kosovo in order to assure their safety. During that period AFSOUTH was busy with several approved operations (the air complement of SFOR; "Determined Force;" "Eagle Eye" and "Determined Guarantor" while continuously updating plans to be ready to support a possible peace agreement. Never before had the Southern Region planning headquarters been so fully immersed in operational activity, with a good complement of its staff deployed at various locations in Italy and in the Balkans.

OPERATION ALLIED FORCE

The international community conducted the Rambouillet peace talks in France, trying to mediate a peaceful solution to the crisis. Meanwhile, the Allied Command Europe Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC) was authorised to deploy to the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (2) in anticipation of a cease fire agreement. Eventually, some of the NATO nations also began to deploy units which were earmarked to participate in peace support operations.

After all efforts to achieve a negotiated, political solution to the Kosovo crisis failed, no alternative was open but to take military action. NATO's Secretary General directed the Supreme Allied Commander Europe to initiate air operations in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Air operations commenced on 24 March 1999 under the name "Operation Allied Force". That obviously implied the termination of Operation Eagle Eye.

Operation Allied Force was the first high intensity air campaign conducted by NATO. A formidable force of NATO aircraft, which reached a peak of over 900, coming from 14 nations and operating from over 40 different locations, flew over 38,000 sorties.

These sorties were flown into a very robust integrated air defence system (which launched over 600 surface-to-air missiles), often in poor visibility. Maritime forces also contributed to the air campaign with naval aviation assets, cruise missiles and a variety of support missions. NATO exercised scrupulous care to avoid harm to the civilian population while avoiding putting its own pilots at unnecessary risk. As a result, "Allied Force" was the most precisely executed military operation in history. Civilian casualties were kept to an absolute minimum while NATO lost no pilots. In two occasions NATO aircraft were lost while flying over Yugoslavia and in both cases the crew were recovered safely, thanks to successful Combat Search and Rescue missions.

On 9 June 1999, while the air campaign was in its 78th day, NATO and Yugoslav military authorities signed a Military Technical Agreement (MTA). The agreement specified the modalities and procedures for the full withdrawal of Yugoslav Security Forces from Kosovo. On 10 June 1999, NATO's Secretary Gen., having received reports indicating that the withdrawal of the Yugoslav security forces was in progress, directed air operations to be suspended.

OPEARTION ALLIED HARBOUR

While Operation "Allied Force" was in progress, over 12,000 NATO troops were deployed in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (2) either as part of the former Extraction Force or to be ready to execute a peace implementation mission, under the leadership of the ARRC.

At the same time, there was an increase in the flow of refugees from Kosovo to Montenegro, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (2) and particularly Albania, all wishing to escape the brutal repression from the Serb forces. Albania embraced the Kosovars and, at the height of the emergency, there were nearly half a million refugees living with host families, in collection centres and refugee camps.

In response to this humanitarian crisis, the North Atlantic Council decided to deploy the Allied Command Europe Mobile Force Land Component (AMF/L) headquarters to Albania, with the task of forming a NATO-led Albania Force (AFOR). AFOR was to assist the Albanian Government and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR, the designated lead humanitarian agency) in resolving the refugee crisis. This operation was named "Allied Harbour."

On 10 April 1999 the Commander of AMF(L) deployed with a core command staff, via HQ AFSOUTH, to Albania to confirm the military requirements for AFOR and to take control in country from a predeployed AFSOUTH Command and Control node. The staff initially operated from the Albanian Ministry of Defence before opening its own headquarters in Durres.

Transfer of Authority was issued on 16 April 1999 and HQ AFOR embarked on a five month mission, helping Albania to absorb nearly half a million refugees, and later providing the necessary support to facilitate their return to Kosovo. During its mission AFOR, among many accomplishments, built or supported the construction of 21 camps, moved over 31,000 tons of humanitarian aid, relocated 80,000 refugees and repatriated about 180,000.

PEACE IMPLEMENTATION IN KOSOVO

On 10 June 1999 the UN Security Council issued Resolution 1244, which called for an immediate and verifiable end to violence and repression in Kosovo and for a complete verifiable phased withdrawal of all military, police and para-military forces. This withdrawal would be synchronised with the deployment of an international security presence in Kosovo. The resolution also established the responsibilities of both an international security presence – which was called Kosovo Force (KFOR) – and an international civil presence. The latter was eventually formed as the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), as the leading international body tasked to provide an interim administration for Kosovo "while establishing and overseeing the development of provisional democratic self-governing institutions to ensure conditions for a peaceful and normal life for all inhabitants of Kosovo." The NATO operation calling for the deployment of KFOR was named "Joint Guardian."

KFOR, which operated under CINCSOUTH as the Joint Force Commander, entered Kosovo on June 12, 1999. Two days later it established tactical command in Pristina, while troops deployed to assigned sectors.

On 20 June 1999, after all FRY military and police forces (VJ/MUP) had departed Kosovo in compliance with the Military Technical Agreement (MTA), NATO's Secretary General decided to terminate the air campaign. Part of the aircraft deployed to conduct Allied Force were eventually authorised to return to home bases. The following day the former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA/UCK) pledged with another agreement, called the UCK Undertaking, to progressively demilitarise its forces.

The basic mission assigned to NATO Operation "Joint Guardian" was:

To establish a security presence in Kosovo, as authorised by the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 and further defined in the MTA signed by military authorities from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and NATO.
To verify and enforce the terms of the MTA.
To establish a secure environment in which refugees and displaced persons can return home in safety.
To establish a secure environment in which the international civil presence can operate, a transitional administration can be established and humanitarian aid can be delivered.
To help achieve a self-sustaining secure environment which will allow public security responsibilities to be transferred to appropriate civil organisations.

On 8 October 1999 the ARRC was relieved as the core element of KFOR Headquarters by Headquarters Allied Land Forces Central Europe. At that time, there were over 42,000 troops from 27 nations deployed in Kosovo. Together with this change of command, AFSOUTH ceased to be Joint Force Command for KFOR, which reported directly to Allied Command Europe. AFSOUTH, however, did not relinquish all its responsibilities towards KFOR, since it remained a direct support commander with reference to air and maritime power. The same role it had been playing with reference to the NATO-led Stabilisation Force in Bosnia-Herzegovina, SFOR.

THE REVISED MILITARY STRUCTURE

While Balkan operations were the focus of the attention of AFSOUTH planners and operators, the Headquarters could not lose sight of other important events which marked the year of NATO’s 50^th Anniversary. 1999 was indeed a year of great changes within the Alliance. New members were admitted and a new military command structure took shape.

AFSOUTH held an official Accession Ceremony of the new NATO members – the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland -- on 17 March 1999. With formal accession, Hungarian military personnel were integrated in the AFSOUTH staff, while Hungary became member of the Southern Region and part of AFSOUTH’s area of responsibility. A few weeks later, another milestone was marked on the road towards adapting the NATO military arm to its new roles.

On May 27, 1999, NATO inaugurated the Mine Counter Measures Force Mediterranean (MCMFM),

an operational mine countermeasures capability permanently available in the Mediterranean and poised for action in peacetime, crisis or conflict. This timely decision was demonstrated a few weeks later when the new force was detached to the Adriatic Sea to conduct Operation "Allied Harvest," to clear ordnance jettisoned during Operation "Allied Force." The operation began on 9 June1999. Search activities began three days later and lasted 73 days. In total, 93 pieces of ordnance were located and cleared in the nine areas searched by the NATO Forces, which encompassed 1,041 square nautical miles. The process of searching the sea floor and safely countermining ordnance was very difficult and challenging. On request by Italy, a second cleaning operation called Allied Harvest II was conducted from 9 June to 4 September 1999. No ordnance was found and no further NATO assistance was deemed necessary.

The real turning point was reached on 1 September 1999, when a new NATO military command structure was adopted. Under this new organisation, the Southern Region Commands comprise about 5000 military and civilian personnel provided by Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom and the United States A very significant increase if compared to the five nations contributing to AFSOUTH only a few years before. France continued to maintain a Military Mission at Regional HQ AFSOUTH, which also included a Partnership Staff Element comprising officers from Partner Nations (initially Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia, eventually joined by a Ukrainian officer).

The activation of the new Command Structure marked a culminating point of over five years of work that began in September 1994 when the NATO Military Committee agreed to the Terms of Reference for establishment of a NATO Long Term Study. The study was generated in recognition of the fact that the integrated command structure needed to continue to adapt to not only the emerging new post-Cold War security environment in Europe; but also to the many ongoing NATO initiatives including the Combined Joint Task Force (CJTF) concept, the strengthening of the European Security and Defence Identity in the Alliance, NATO enlargement and the instabilities surrounding the southern European region.

The new Command Structure represented more than just new Headquarters and a new establishment. It represented many new ways of doing business. The new structure was "mission oriented." It provided NATO with the capability to better cope with the full range of the Alliance's roles and missions ranging from its traditional task of undertaking collective defence, to fulfilling new roles in changing circumstances, including "non-Article 5" missions such as Peace Support Operations. Furthermore, factors such as increased flexibility, force effectiveness, Alliance cohesion, the principles of multi-nationality and affordability all had been taken into account.

The new structure clearly recognised the significance of the Southern Region and constituted a major overhaul of the integrated military structure. This gave the Alliance an enhanced capacity to perform a whole new range of roles and missions, particularly the ones described in NATO's Strategic Concept approved by the Heads of State and Governments participating in the summit meeting of the North Atlantic Council in Washington D.C. on 24 April 1999.

The new structure was designed to be operationally effective and viable from both a political and military perspective. It facilitated the integration of new members of the Alliance and was meeting the requirements of an enhanced Partnership for Peace.

Under RHQ AFSOUTH (RHQ AFSOUTH), or Regional Command South under the new terminology, there are six subordinate commands, which operate at the third level of the NATO command structure; and a permanent regional Reaction Force HQ. Two of those are air and maritime Component Commands (CCs), covering region-wide component-specific responsibilities. The CCs are:

Allied Air Forces South (AIRSOUTH), Naples, Italy, responsible for air defence and planning throughout the region.
Allied Naval Forces South (NAVSOUTH), Naples, Italy, which exercises operational control of the NATO Maritime Immediate Reaction Forces (IRFs’) – STANAVFORMED and MCMFORMED - and other assigned maritime forces in the area of responsibility and is responsible for their readiness and training. NAVSOUTH is also responsible for the preparation of maritime aspects of plans and the conduct of maritime exercises.

Additionally, RHQ AFSOUTH also exercises direct command and control of Striking Forces Southern Europe (STRIKFORSOUTH), which constitutes a permanent regional Reaction Force HQ in Naples, Italy.

There are four Joint Sub-Regional Commands (JSRCs), which provide a geographically dispersed joint military planning and command and control (C2) capability. Their responsibilities include: safeguarding lines of communication; contributing to planning for CJTF operations; exercising operational command for control, readiness, and training of all military units and personnel allocated to them; preparing war plans and conduct exercises to accomplish assigned missions. The joint subordinate commands are:

Joint Command South (JCSOUTH), Verona, Italy.
Joint Command Southcentre (JCSOUTHCENT), Larissa, Greece.
Joint Command Southeast (JCSOUTHEAST), Izmir, Turkey.
Joint Command Southwest (JCSOUTHWEST), Madrid, Spain.

The new military structure implied the closure of all NATO fourth level commands. Therefore, the most significant impacts on AFSOUTH by the reorganisation ncluded:

The opening of new headquarters in Madrid (JCSOUTHWEST), on 30 September 1999) and Larissa (JCSOUTHCENT), on 5 October 1999;

Increased area of responsibility (it includes: Greece, Hungary, Italy, Spain and Turkey; plus the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov, the whole of the Mediterranean and the Atlantic approaches to the Strait of Gibraltar, east of longitude 7º 23’ 48" W, and an area around the Canary Islands; and associated airspace);

Increased size and scope of responsibility for the two component commands, while STRIKFORSOUTH remains as a unique strategic regional asset;

Assumption of responsibility as one of the two NATO Combined Joint Task Force nucleus headquarters;

Effective 1 September 1999, disestablishment of two air commands (FIVEATAF and SIXATAF) and of four maritime commands (COMEDCENT, COMEDEAST, COMEDNOREAST, COMGIBMED) While COMSUBMED and COMARAIRMED were transformed in detachments of NAVSOUTH, as COMSUBSOUTH and COMMARAIRSOUTH;

Eventual establishment of Combined Air Operation (CAOC) centres in each of the southern region nations. Interim CAOC (ICAOC) were established as ICAOC-5, at Poggio-Renatico, Italy; ICOC-6, at Eskisehir, Turkey; ICAOC-7, at Larissa, Greece; ICAOC-8, at Madrid, Spain; and ICAOC-10 at Lisbon, Portugal.

Together with the new structure, AFSOUTH adopted a new peacetime establishment with a new mix reflecting the increased number of contributing nations. In terms of top key positions, this included the assignment of the Deputy Commander-in-Chief position to Greece and Turkey (on a rotational basis; this position was previously assigned to Italy); the transfer of the Chief of Staff responsibilities from the U.S. to Italy; the transfer of the Deputy Chief of Staff duties from Italy to Spain; and the establishment of the new position of Director of Operational Management, assigned to Germany.

1999: A YEAR OF MAJOR CHANGES

The year 1999 was certainly the busiest and most exciting time in AFSOUTH’s history. As we have seen, the Naples NATO Headquarters was responsible for the military verification mission with which the international community cleared the way for a peaceful solution of the Kosovo crisis. AFSOUTH led the first ever major NATO air campaign, a success which will have an impact on the future use of air power. Meanwhile, it conducted the first ever NATO humanitarian operation, in Albania, while supporting similar efforts with its troops in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) (2). Immediately after the end of Operation "Allied Force," it was again AFSOUTH, as Joint Force Command, that supervised the deployment of the NATO-led Kosovo Force and a mine-sweeping operation in the Adriatic Sea, cleaning up ordnance jettisoned during the air operation.

French Mirage 2000 taking off from
Solenzara during exercise Ample Train

While conducting so many demanding operations and planning for their possible developments, AFSOUTH managed to implement very significant changes in its structure, enlarging its area of operation and activating new headquarters and a new maritime force. With all of that in mind, it is remarkable that the same staff was also able to keep running most of the routine training programs, including several PfP exercises; and to revitalise important engagement programs like port visits to non-NATO countries in the Mediterranean.

The latter was the visible evidence of the emerging southern region strategy for the following millennium: remaining prepared for the basic NATO missions and preventing future crises through dialogue and co-operation while improving capabilities to conduct the full spectrum of peace support operations.

A role which finds its place in the new Alliance Strategic Concept, approved at NATO's 50^th Anniversary summit in Washington:

"Through outreach and openness, the Alliance seeks to preserve peace, support and promote democracy, contribute to prosperity and progress, and foster genuine partnership with and among all democratic Euro-Atlantic countries….NATO's Mediterranean Dialogue process is an integral part of NATO's co-operative approach to security. It provides a framework for confidence building, promotes transparency and co-operation in the region, and reinforces and is reinforced by other international efforts."

If only because of geography, no other NATO command is better placed to perform these vital duties than AFSOUTH.

THE END OF THE CENTURY

Key-leader training at AFSOUTH for EUROCORPS staff and other augmentees tapped for KFOR duty.

For AFSOUTH the year 2000 was mainly marked by completing the transition into the new command structure and by a progressively increased engagement in Balkan operations. As the staffing headquarters for KFOR, AFSOUTH conducted a series of major programs to bring new teams rotating into key staff positions at KFOR up to the required standards of interoperability. This mission had particular relevance when a non-NATO headquarters, Eurocorps, was nominated to provide the core staff for KFOR headquarters (KFOR staff rotated every six months, with a single headquarters identified a constituting the core). Even though it was made up of personnel from NATO nations, Eurocorps is not part of the NATO structure and required familiarisation with NATO procedures as well as with the Kosovo operational environment. Not less demanding was the task to 'mount' the KFOR rotating headquarters, which was formed from within Southern Region headquarters, mainly from JCS of Verona and JCSE of Izmir. In this case the additional challenge was to integrate a staff coming from different headquarters even though they were already familiar with basic NATO procedures. This mission facilitated the selection as the next COMKFOR the AFSOUTH Chief of Staff, Lt.Gen. Carlo Cabigiosu, the first Italian officer assigned to this key position.

Turkish planes at N.Aghialos,Greece to partcipate in DM 2000

Meanwhile, the exercise program received new impetus and was able to achieve major successes. Among the yearly exercises, like the Anti-submarine Warfare exercise "Dogfish" and the air exercise "Ample Train" (conducted at Solenzara, France), the most complex was certainly "Destined Glory." This saw Greek forces training on Turkish soil for the first time in decades. AFSOUTH also conducted the most challenging biannual exercise "Dynamic Mix". This exercise marked several 'firsts.’ Conducted in Greece, Turkey and the Eastern Mediterranean, it was characterised by the presence -- after several decades – of Turkish air and ground forces during training activities in Greece. It was also the first southern region exercise in which Hungary and the Czech Republic participated as NATO members, and the first major AFSOUTH exercise conducted after the adoption of the new military structure.

Hellene Marines of the 505th Marine Battalion , immediately after landihg at the Turkish military range of Dogenbey , during exercise Destined Glory 2000 .

The PfP training program also saw new improvements, with the maritime and amphibious exercise "Co-operative Partner" conducted for the first time in the Ukraine; exercise "Co-operative Best Effort" in Romania; exercise "Co-operative Dragon" in Albania and the air exercise "Co-operative Key" in Romania. Also, "Co-operative Determination" was the first computer-assisted, command-post PfP exercise ever conducted in Switzerland.

The natural outcome of the reasserted role of AFSOUTH was the NATO Council’s decision to modify the command and control structure for Balkan operations, giving AFSOUTH complete operational responsibility of the NATO-led operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina and in Kosovo. This decision, which was to be gradually implemented the following year, was an important step to guarantee a more efficient use of the operational resources. For several years land-component commanders of Balkan operations had reported directly to SACEUR, while operational command of the air and maritime components remained with AFSOUTH and its component commands. At the same time, by passing down most of the responsibilities for Balkan operations, SHAPE was better able to concentrate on its strategic mission. As a consequence, the last few months of the century were mainly spent by AFSOUTH staff in progressively accelerating preparations for a seamless transition into the new command and control structure for Balkan operations.

NEW MISSIONS FOR THE NEW MILLENNIUM

Early in the New Year, on 18 January 2001, AFSOUTH assumed operational responsibilities for the forces of Operation "Joint Guardian," which included the Kosovo Force. KFOR at the time was comprised of forces from 39 nations, 20 of which were not part of NATO (Argentina, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Ireland, Jordan, Latvia, Lithuania, Morocco, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, UAE, and Ukraine).

KFOR soldiers overlooking control point north of Donji Livoc.

A total of 42,000 troops were deployed in Kosovo, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (2) and Albania. The transition was indeed seamless; even though the situation in Kosovo and in Southern Serbia was far from being stable. There was a constant risk of escalation of hostilities at various potential flash points, like the town of Mitrovica. During the same period, tension was also very high in areas just across the Kosovo southern and south-eastern borders because of activities by Albanian armed extremists.

Just one month later, on 19 February, the land forces of Operation "Joint Forge," the Stabilisation Force (SFOR) for Bosnia-Herzegovina, were transferred to the operational control of AFSOUTH. Thirty-four nations contributed to SFOR, including 15 non-NATO nations (Albania, Austria, Argentina, Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Morocco, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden), for a total of about 20,000 troops.

A SFOR helicopter during live fire training

With the combined services of both KFOR and SFOR, AFSOUTH was now responsible for the leadership of forces provided by 40 countries; with over 62,000 troops and a powerful air component, mainly deployed on Italian bases. The most powerful and complex joint force ever assigned to a NATO regional command. A force which had to face continuous challenges, like the activity of armed extremists in Southern Serbia, which led to allowing the military forces of the Federal republic of Yugoslavia to progressively re-enter the Ground Safety Zone established around Kosovo. And like the violence eventually erupting in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (2), which prompted a need for further NATO engagement within that country, to include the deployment of an AFSOUTH team to form a NATO Co-ordination and Co-operation Centre.

Eventually, AFSOUTH planned and conducted Operation Essential Harvest, collecting and destroying weapons and ammunition voluntarily surrendered by Albanian insurgents, as a result of a political agreement between the government of the former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia ⁽²⁾ and Albanian insurgents. For the first time, NATO acted militarily in an effort to prevent a crisis from developing into a conflict. And it succeeded. Once more AFSOUTH had a leading role in exploring new ways to foster peace and stability. As a natural consequence of that success, AFSOUTH was also tasked to deploy a follow-on force, called Task Force Fox, with the duty, on request by the Government of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia ⁽²⁾, to provide additional security protection to international OSCE and EU civil monitors.

FROM THE SUCCESSES OF 50 YEARS TO PROSPECTS FOR THE FUTURE

It was impossible to predict how long AFSOUTH would have to cope with the Balkan problems. It will be "as long as needed". Meanwhile, the headquarters remained projected towards its normal long-term basic commitments: to be able to defend peace while projecting stability. Exercise programs therefore could not lose their momentum and continued along a pattern of effectiveness and with the increased involvement of non-NATO partners. To be able to cope with the new complex array of commitments, AFSOUTH was also planning for construction of a new facility, where a state-of-the-art headquarters will guarantee all the needed working command, control and communication resources while providing much better quality of life. AFSOUTH celebrated its 50^th Anniversary on 21 June 2001. After 50 years of a happy marriage with the city of Naples, the headquarters was preparing to move a few miles west, in a compound called AFSOUTH 2000.

Fifty years represented more than two generations for the AFSOUTH staff. The first generation is to be credited for having built a credible defence structure from nothing. This structure contributed to deterrence when a new war in Europe was a concrete possibility. The second generation had the difficult task of continuing with the pattern of deterrence through preparation; even if AFSOUTH remained a neglected southern ‘flank’ and NATO resources continued to concentrate on central Europe. At the same time, command and control technology was changing at growing speed, leading to a widening gap with the rest of NATO. Notwithstanding that, NATO's overall defensive capabilities in the south continued to increase, up to a point where AFSOUTH could offer ‘strategic leverage’ to the main NATO defences in central Europe. However, it was only with the end of the Cold War that the Alliance acknowledged that all the warnings received from AFSOUTH about the many endemic sources of instability in the south were well founded. These anticipated challenges became a reality only NATO was capable to cope with.

With progressive acceleration, AFSOUTH capitalised on the attention received during the first out-of-area crisis, the Gulf War, to demonstrate its capability to plan and conduct large-scale operations, to protect peace and help manage a major international crisis. It was no accident that the Gulf War did not spill into the Mediterranean. Soon after, countries like Germany, The Netherlands and Canada - which had not been present in the southern command - decided to extend their NATO commitment to AFSOUTH. In a few years the Naples headquarters saw the number of nations represented on its staff to grow from five to 14 and more came afterwards.

The main credit to be given to the current generation of AFSOUTH leaders and staff members was that they had kept the momentum going - even at times leading the Alliance toward its new roles. They had shown that that old taboos (like out-of-area operations) were a relic of the past. All the major missions which were envisaged by the new NATO strategy had been tested at AFSOUTH: the new relationship with the United Nations, OSCE and WEU; peace missions in support of the international community; humanitarian operations; the openness with which non-NATO members have been progressively associated as real partners in these activities.

Unfortunately, on 11 September 2001, whilst AFSOUTH was proudly looking at the results achieved in five decades, the news of the absurd terrorist attacks in the United States suddenly changed the international scenario. The evil forces which many times AFSOUTH planners had indicated as an emerging major threat to peace and stability hit with inconceivable barbarism.

The Alliance's reaction was well in proportion, with a display of cohesion, firmness and unanimity with no precedence. AFSOUTH stood ready to take its share.

THE GROWING OPERATIONAL ROLE

On 9 October 2001, following the North Atlantic Council's decision on implementation of Article 5 of the Washington Treaty as a consequence of the 11 September 2001 attacks against the United States, NATO’s STANAVFORMED was ordered to deploy to the Eastern Mediterranean to provide NATO presence in the area while demonstrating NATO’s resolve and solidarity (Operation Active Endeavour).

Two weeks later Admiral Gregory G. Johnson, U.S. Navy, succeeded Admiral James O. Ellis, U.S. Navy, as Commander-in-Chief, Allied Forces Southern Europe. In his inaugural speech he challenged the AFSOUTH personnel to set aside all thinking and to concentrate on innovative approaches. He said "we must not be a reactionary force frozen in old and comfortable ways of doing things; rather, we must bean engine of innovative leadership that leads AFSOUTH and NAVEUR to effective solutions."

While US-led operations were in progress in Afghanistan, NATO assured sustainability to Operation Active Edeavour by bring into the Mediterranean NATO’s Standing Naval Force Atlantic.

ITS Scirocco operating with Standing Naval Force Mediterranean

This operation proved also to provide the area with a number of secondary positive effects. Search and rescue operations were conducted and NATO ships provided life-saving support to the crew of an oil rig and to the passengers of a sinking ship in the Eastern Mediterranean. But it would be only over time that the positive fallout of NATO's presence would appear evident. Notwithstanding the many NATO and national operational commitments, to retain operational readiness and interoperability of remaining forces was still a high priority. On 21 May-6 June 2002 NATO’s bi-annual land, maritime, amphibious and air exercise Dynamic Mix 2002 (DM02) took place in Spain (including the Canary Islands), the Western Mediterranean, the Southeast Atlantic and Turkey. Later on , on 17-28 June 2002, Exercise Cooperative Best Effort 2002 was conducted in in T’bilisi, Georgia. And NATO’s annual maritime and amphibious exercise Cooperative Partner 2002 took place near Constanta, Romania, and in the Black Sea on 21 June-6 July 2002. To complete the yearly training program, ten NATO nations and twelve Partner nations joined forces in Exercise Cooperative Key 2002 in Saint-Dizier, France on 22 September-4 October and the annual amphibious, maritime and power projection exercise Destined Glory 2002 was conducted in the Tyrrhenian and Ionian Seas on 5-15 October 2002.

HMS SHEFFIELD, flagship of STANAVFORMED, berthing in Algiers.

A third priority of AFSOUTH, after current operations and training, remained cooperation and dialogue, both within PfP and the Mediterranean Dialogue. The Headquarters had therefore to manage the schedules so as to deconflict all the programs. As an example of this, NATO naval forces conducted a number of port visits to ports in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, to include ports of the Mediterranean Dialogue countries. A conference to discuss prospects for further development of NATO’s Mediterranean Dialogue program was held at RHQ AFSOUTH in October, with participation of senior representatives from Algeria, Jordan, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia.

Current operations remained nevertheless top priority. The Balkan operations continued to represent a daily challenge, while all relevant plans required continuous update to chase the moving target of a changing security environment. The structure of forces in Bosnia and Kosovo was subject to periodic reviews which led, in 2002, to a decision to progressively modify the force mix, reducing the number of major units and the overall numbers while compensating with more agile forces and with other forces 'Over The Horizon', ready to deploy anywhere in the Balkan theater of operations. This review of the "Joint Operation Area" (JOA) was conducted keeping in mind that

NATO would remain committed to security and stability in the Balkans;
the restructuring of the NATO and NATO-led forces would reflect the progress achieved in building self-sustained stability;
the new structure would enable SFOR and KFOR to meet remaining challenges more effectively and efficiently.

Another important concept behind the harmonization of theater activities was the acknowledgment that each mission had specific challenges, tasks and objectives and their distinct mandates would remain.

A royal Netherlands Marine deployed to Bosnia as part of the strategic reserve, during the Operational Reharsal Dynamic Mix 2002.

In Bosnia, it was decided SFOR would reach a force strength of about 12,000 by the beginning of 2003, with three multinational Brigades each of which commanded by a Brigadier and containing distinct Battle Groups (BGs). These BGs would be multinational and essentially reinforced battalion task forces with their own organic capabilities. In addition, there would be dedicated Tactical Reserve Forces able to intervene anywhere within the Theatre of Operations. These could in turn be augmented by the Operational Reserve Force, which is principally composed of Over The Horizon Forces.

Similarly, KFOR Multinational Brigades were reduced to four, with total force to be progressively reduced to 32,000 by the end of 2002.

The JOA review included also the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia(2) and Albania. A new NATO Headquarters was created in Skopje in April 2002 by amalgamating existing tasks and two existing HQ's. The tasks were the Senior Military Representative (SMR) to the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia(2) and the NATO Crisis Co-ordination Centre. The HQ's were KFOR REAR and AMBER FOX. A consolidation of these tasks and HQ’s resulted in a new HQ named NATO Headquarters Skopje (NHQS). The missions assigned to the new HQ were:

- Commanding all NATO and NATO-led Forces in the country;
- Supporting KFOR and ensure KFOR Line of Communication in the country, to include the coordination of the activities of the National Support Elements;
- Facilitating the exchange of releasable information and data, assist and coordinate Bi-Lateral support and military cooperation with General Staff, Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Interior and other Governmental entities as deemed appropriate by NATO and Government authorities;
- Liaise with other international organizations;
- Working in close co-operation with the NATO Ambassador/Civil Liaison Officer, conducting liaison directly with the Government authorities as appropriate

Durres, 5 Aug. 2002 - Albanian President Alfred Moisu, thanking Brigadier General Umberto Caparro, the first Senior Military Representative (SMR) and Brigadier General Franco Giannini taking over at the presence of Admiral Gregory G. Johnson, CINCSOUTH.

Albania also continued to play a vital role in maintaining stability in the Balkans. It became clear that NATO’s relationship with the Albanian government and the military should reflect this importance. In order to achieve this, on 17 June 02, NATO transformed the former KFOR Communication Zone WEST into a NATO Headquarters in Tirana (NHQT), commanded by a Senior Military Representative (SMR), to report directly to the Commander-in-Chief Allied Forces Southern Europe. Commanded by the SMR, the NHQT was to facilitate co-ordination between the Government of Albania, Organisations of the International Community and NATO He was also tasked to monitor lines of communication and support Commander KFOR (COMKFOR) and the SMR in Skopje.

At the beginning of the summer of 2002 AFSOUTH was therefore engaged in supervising five major 'out-of-area' operations or missions: SFOR, KFOR, NHQS, NHQT and operation Active Endeavour. Embedded in the mission of NHQS there was indeed another operation, named “Amber Fox”, which had started on 26 September 2001.

Troops from Task Force Fox during an exercise in Opae, Kumanovo

The mandate of "Amber Fox" was to provide additional security to International Community monitors in the crisis areas, while government authorities had primarily responsibility for their security. The end of "Amber Fox" mission was a remarkable example of how joint efforts of the International Community and the authorities of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia(2) resulted in bringing the country from the brink of civil war back on the track of further democratization and improvement of human rights through a process of dialog and reconciliation. As a result of the greatly improved security in the country, local authorities and NATO decided to bring the mission to an end on 15 December 2002 when the last extension of the NATO mandate expired. In order to demonstrate its commitment and support, NATO, by invitation of the Government of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia(2), started a new mission called “ Allied Harmony”. The executive command of the new mission was given to the NATO Headquarters Skopje. The forces were also reduced from about 700 soldiers to about 450 while at the same time NATO kept almost the same number of liaison teams on the ground.

General view of the Prague Summit in 2002.

NATO Heads of State and Government met in Prague on 21 November 2002 and approved the design for a transformed Alliance, open to new members, with a structure oriented towards new operational capabilities and able to meet new challenges and project stability through enhanced cooperation and dialogue -- to include upgrading substantially the political and practical dimensions of the Mediterranean Dialogue. AFSOUTH may have well presented them a model on which to build. Indeed, the principles on which the future military structure of the Alliance was to be designed reflected many of the realities and lessons learned of the Southern Region for several years.

The profound transformation decided at the Prague Summit committed NATO headquarters to assign top priority to the transition into a new command structure, the adoption of new missions and the development of new capabilities. However, the very reason why those decisions had been taken -- growing world instability -- soon reached another peak with the situation which led to the beginning of the US Operation Iraqi Freedom.

NATO forces patrolling the Strait of Gibraltar

On 4 February 2003, the North Atlantic Council (NAC) extended Operation Active Endeavour to include escorting non-military ships traveling through the Strait of Gibraltar to maintain security in the area and to secure the safe transit of designated Allied ships. The narrow Strait of Gibraltar was widely recognized as a potential site of terrorist attacks, and so this measure was adopted as a precaution. NATO conducted the first escort on 10 March 2003, with units of Standing Naval Force Atlantic, supported by US and Portuguese Maritime Patrol Aircraft and Spanish helicopters. Subsequently the Strait of Gibraltar operations were led by the Spanish and comprised Spanish frigates, Danish, Norwegian and German Patrol Boats and aircraft from Spain, Portugal and the US.

An AWACS E3-A deployed at Konya, Turkey

Almost at the same time, the NATO Defense Planning Committee authorized the allied military authorities to urgently implement defensive measures to assist Turkey. Two NATO E3-A AWACS Early Warning Aircraft arrived at Turkey’s Konya Air Base on 26 February, and immediately started missions to provide surveillance and early warning for defensive purposes, in order to maintain the integrity of Turkish airspace.

Eventually, AFSOUTH also assumed control of three Dutch batteries of Patriot ground-based, air defense missile systems, which received additional enhanced missiles provided by the German Air Force and deployed to Diyarbakir and Batman, South Eastern Turkey. Two additional U.S. Patriot batteries were eventually deployed to Turkey.

The Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), General James L. Jones, approved on 13 March 2003 the plan for Operation "Display Deterrence", the nickname given to NATO's contribution to the defense of Turkey. The Commander-in-Chief AlliedForces Southern Europe, Admiral Gregory G. Johnson, US Navy, was appointed Joint Force Commander. On 16 April 2003, the North Atlantic Council (NAC) agreed to conclude its formal consultations on Turkey's security under Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty. The decision was taken on the basis of NATO military and other assessments and advice, and Turkish concerns.

In response to that decision, on 16 April 2003, General Jones ordered the gradual reduction of NATO AWACS crews, the Patriot Fire Units, and other support personnel deployed to Turkey. By that date AWACS crews had flown about 100 missions and more than 950 flying hours. Overall, NATO had committed over 1000 technically advanced and highly capable forces.

Operation Display Deterrence was formally terminated on 30 April 2003, just one day after Task Force Endeavour began boarding operations following a NAC decision to enhance the effectiveness of the naval operations against suspected terrorist activities in the Mediterranean. The boarding operations were to be of a compliant nature and conducted in accordance with the rules of international law.

While the AFSOUTH staff was hastily working at defining plans for the transition into the new command structure, normal operational commitments continued relentlessly. Operations in the Balkans remained an important focus while SFOR and KFOR, also because of the progressive reduction in the deployed forces, continued to maintain a visible NATO commitment to the safe and secure environments required for Bosnia and Kosovo. This commitment became even more visible with the operational rehearsal “Dynamic Response 03,” conducted in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo from 26 August to 24 September 2003. This annual rehearsal proved NATO’s ability to significantly reinforce in-theatre, NATO-led forces with so-called “Over-The-Horizon-Forces,” at short notice.

Traditionally, military training activities are not permitted to interfere with operations, but they are, nonetheless, essential to maintain the required effectiveness and interoperability of NATO and Partner forces. During 2003, AFSOUTH conducted or directed exercises Dog Fish, the world’s largest annual anti-submarine warfare exercise which took place in the waters of the Ionian Sea to east of Sicily, 20 February until 05 March 03; Cooperative Best Effort, a land-based PfP exercise which took place in Armenia from 16 to 27 June 2003 (the first PfP exercise hosted by that nation and the first time that Russia participated in such a NATO exercise with staff officers and an infantry squad integrated into the exercise’s multinational force structure; Cooperative Partner, PfP’s annual maritime and amphibious exercise which took place from 20 June until 5 July 2003 near Odessa, Ukraine, and in the Black Sea; Cooperative Key, a PfP air exercise which took place from 01 to 13 Sep 03 in Plovdiv, Bulgaria; and Cooperative Engagement, NATO’s biannual PfP maritime exercise, which took place from 13 to 20 Sep 03 near Split, Croatia, and in the Adriatic Sea.

A Moroccan frigate training with STANAVFORMED.

NATO’s standing naval forces, notwithstanding their commitment to Active Endeavour, continued an active program of port visits aimed to foster NATO’s engagement plans with partners and friends. MCMFORSOUTH visited Tunis on 12 to 15 September 2003 and Algiers, Algeria from 5 to 8 October 2003. STANAVFORMED visited Malta from 10 to 12 October 2003 and Casablanca, Morocco from 16 to 19 October 2003.
But many more activities were also conducted in 2003 to pursue stability through dialogue and cooperation. Among these, particular significance was given to the visit on 20 November of Mr. Boris Tadic, Minister of Defense of the Union of Serbia and Montenegro, and General Branko Krga, Chief Defense of the Union of Serbia and Montenegro, at Headquarters AFSOUTH. This was the first visit of defense authorities of the Union of Serbia and Montenegro to the NATO Headquarters in Naples and was, as Admiral Johnson highlighted, “an important step in the continuing process of bringing peace and stability to the Balkans region.”

DEACTIVATION OF AFSOUTH

2004 began with the initial transition of AFSOUTH towards the new organization and the new mission which the Headquarters was to pass to its successor headquarters, Joint Force Command Naples. Selected staff members began to assume new responsibilities to parallel their duties in the anticipated new structure and – as a very symbolic introduction of a transition into the future – a ground breaking ceremony was conducted on 28 January 2004 at Lago Patria, some 20 kilometers west of Naples, at the site where a completely new facility will be built to host Joint Force Command Naples.

The impact of the new NATO Command Structure on AFSOUTH – which, together with AFNORTH, comprised NATO’s second level of command – was the conversion to a Joint Force Command (JFC), responsible to establish a Combined Joint Task Force (CJTF) HQ for its expeditionary missions. These NATO-dedicated force headquarters would mount a smaller Deployed Joint Task Force (DJTF) as the “seed” for larger command and control formations which various missions may require. As part of the conversion, NAVSOUTH was to become the Maritime Component Command (MCC) as CC-Mar Naples and remain in Naples; a Land Component Command (LCC) was to be established in Madrid, Spain as CC-Land Madrid; and AIRSOUTH was to convert to the Air Component Command (ACC) and relocate to Izmir, Turkey as CC-Air Izmir.

With the establishment of the CC-Air Izmir, the Combined Air Operations Centers (CAOCs) at Poggio Renatico, Italy and Larissa, Greece, will remain in operation while those at Eskisehir (Turkey), Monsanto (Portugal), and Torrejon (Spain) will close as NATO CAOCs.

The Joint Sub-Regional Commands that were established in 1999 at Izmir, Turkey, Larissa, Greece, Madrid and Verona, Italy are to stand-down.

The NRF was officially activated on 15 October 2003, with rotational command responsibility assigned to AFNORTH, to be relieved by Joint Force Command Naples on 1 July 2004. The close deadline imposed an acceleration of the preparations to meet the associated DJTF responsibilities as DJTF members must be able to report within 48 hours and to deploy within five days. DJTF Staff, totalling 90 personnel, were identified within the AFSOUTH functional areas and started their training, especially planning and Operational Liaison and Reconnaissance Team (OLRT) procedures. Several training opportunities and exercises were scheduled, or adapted to the additional training objectives. Initial training at AFSOUTH began 6 October 2003 with Dynamic Action, a two-week staff writing program and seminar. During the first week, a series of workshops developed the standard operating procedures for the development and deployment of the Operational Liaison and Reconnaissance Team, DJTF and CJTF. Week two featured a series of seminars for NRF orientation, the operational planning process and the development of vignettes and operational scenarios. Battle staff training followed from 24 November to 4 December and eventually continued with deployment of the DJTF staff to the Joint Warfare Centre at Stavanger, Norway in early February.

The AFSOUTH compound at Bagnoli was formally activated on 4 April 1954, the day of the 5th anniversary of the North Atlantic Treaty. Nearly fifty years later, on 2 April 2004 a ceremony at Bagnoli marked the deactivation of Allied Forces Southern Europe and the activation of Joint Force Command Naples, effective 4 April 2004. Nearly fifty-three years after Adm. Carney assumed duties as CINCSOUTH on 21 June 1951.

More than half of a century during which AFSOUTH HQ moved from being the headquarters of the so-called soft underbelly of the Alliance to becoming the spearhead of NATO’s transition into the new operational missions which make the Alliance more relevant than ever to peace, security and stability for the entire world, well beyond the area defined by Article 6 of the Treaty.

Always ready to assume new missions and responsibilities, AFSOUTH was for many years the spearhead of NATO’s initiatives and changes along the pattern which assured peace, stability and growing prosperity to the whole NATO’s southern region. Through its engagement activities it projected its values beyond borders, wherever there were people who ready to share with AFSOUTH the essential goal of assuring a better and more peaceful and prosperous future to the next generations. This is the heritage the AFSOUTH staff proudly left with the Joint Force Command Naples.

(2) Turkey recognises the Republic of Macedonia with its constitutional name.