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The NATO Portal
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) French: Organisation du Traité de l'Atlantique Nord (OTAN), also called the (North) Atlantic Alliance, is a military alliance established by the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty on 4 April 1949. The NATO headquarters are in Brussels, Belgium, and the organization constitutes a system of collective defense whereby its member states agree to mutual defense in response to an attack by any external party.
Selected article
Operation Strikeback was a major naval exercise of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) that took place over a ten-day period in September 1957.
As part of a series of exercises to simulate an all-out Soviet attack on NATO, Operation Strikeback was tasked with two objectives. Its initial objective was the deployment of NATO's naval forces (designated the "Blue Fleet") against other NATO forces attempting to simulate an "enemy" navy that featured a large number of submarines (designated the "Orange Fleet"). Its other objective was to have the Blue Fleet execute carrier-based air strikes against "enemy" formations and emplacements along NATO's northern flank in Norway.
Operation Strikeback involved over 200 warships, 650 aircraft, and 75,000 personnel from the United States Navy, the United Kingdom's Royal Navy, the Royal Canadian Navy, the French Navy, the Royal Netherlands Navy, and the Royal Norwegian Navy. As the largest peacetime naval operation up to that time, military analyst Hanson W. Baldwin of the New York Times characterized Operation Strikeback as "constituting the strongest striking fleet assembled since World War II."
Selected image
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| A French helicopter lands during a NATO mission to train the Afghan National Army. |
Did you know...
- ...that the current Supreme Allied Commander Europe for NATO is Admiral James G. Stavridis? He is the first Navy officer to become USEUCOM's and SACEUR's combatant commander.
- ...that NATO is also called the Western Alliance, the North Atlantic Alliance, and the Atlantic Alliance?
- ...that the NATO phonetic alphabet is the most widely used phonetic alphabet?
- ...that NATO pilots flew more than 100,000 sorties during Operation Deny Flight?
Selected member military
The military of the Netherlands is composed of four branches, all of which carry the prefix Koninklijke (Royal):
- Koninklijke Landmacht (KL), the Royal Netherlands Army.
- Koninklijke Marine (KM), the Royal Netherlands Navy, including the Marine-Luchtvaartdienst (Naval Air Service) and Korps Mariniers (Marine Corps).
- Koninklijke Luchtmacht (KLu), the Royal Netherlands Air Force.
- Koninklijke Marechaussee (KMar), the Royal Military Police, tasks include military police and some civil police duties.
Conscription in the Netherlands was suspended in 1996. All military specialities, except the Submarine service and the Marine Corps, are open to women. The Korps Commandotroepen, the Special Operations Force of the Netherlands Army, is open to women, but because of the extremely high physical demands for initial training, it is found impossible for women to become a commando. The Dutch Ministry of Defence employs 68,000 personnel, including both civilian and military personnel.
Within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, there are small local armed forces on the islands of Aruba (Arumil) and Curaçao (Antmil). These operate under the auspices of the Royal Netherlands Navy and Marines.
NATO news
- June 22: The Turkish government has agreed to allow NATO AWACS aircraft to operate from bases in Western Turkey providing better air traffic control and radar control over Afghanistan. Read more...
- June 18: During a farewell visit to Afghanistan, outgoing NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer announced that the alliance would send an extra 8,000 to 10,000 troops to the country to provide additional security during August elections. Read mores...
- June 14: A warship from the NATO naval force off Somalia freed 14 Indian sailors held hostage by pirates. Read more...
Selected biography
Bantz John Craddock (born 1950), a General in the United States Army, was the Commander, U.S. European Command (USEUCOM) and the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) for NATO and the commanding officer of Allied Command Operations (ACO). He also led the United States Southern Command from November 9, 2004 to December 2006. Read more...
Quotes
- The threats we face today are not unique to any of us – they are common across the globe, and none of our countries is immune to them. --Jaap de Hoop Scheffer
- Our unique partnership was born in common philosophies of freedom and democracy. It was forged during half a century's fight against tyranny. Now it stands as a beacon of democracy, toleration, plurality, openness and candor in a world menaced by extremism and instability. --Lord Robertson
- "Russia is a part of European culture. Therefore, it is with difficulty that I imagine NATO as an enemy.” --Vladimir Putin
Things you can do
- Expand: Fulda Gap • Warsaw Pact • Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe • Operation Deliberate Force
- Peer Review: Operation Deny Flight
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