Allied Command Transformation

Allied Command Transformation
Allied Command Transformation Emblem
Active	19 June 2003-Present
Country	NATO
Headquarters	Norfolk, Virginia
Commanders
Current commander	Général d'armée aérienne Stéphane Abrial (French Air Force)

Allied Command Transformation (ACT) is a NATO military command, which was formed in 2003 after North Atlantic Treaty Organization restructuring.

Historical background

Allied Command Atlantic 1952 - 2003

Main article: Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic

Allied Command Transformation was preceded by Allied Command Atlantic (ACLANT) established in 1952 under the overall command of Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic (SACLANT), with headquarters at Norfolk, Virginia. ACLANT's purpose was to guard the sea lanes between North America and Europe in order to reinforce the European countries of NATO with U.S. troops and supplies in the event of a Soviet/Warsaw Pact invasion of Western Europe. Following the end of the Cold War, the Command was reduced, with many of its subordinate headquarters spread across the Atlantic area losing their NATO status and funding. However, the basic structure remained in place until the Prague Summit in the Czech Republic in 2002. This led to ACLANT being decommissioned effective 19 June 2003, and a new Allied Command Transformation (ACT) being established as its successor.

Post Cold War Changes

At the 2002 Prague Summit, it was decided that NATO should change its military structures and concepts, and acquire new types of equipment to face the operational challenges of coalition warfare against the threats of the new millennium. Thus NATO’s military command structure was reorganized with a focus on becoming leaner and more efficient, focusing one strategic command, Allied Command Transformation (ACT), on transforming NATO, while focusing NATO's other strategic command on NATO’s operations Allied Command Operations (ACO/SHAPE). ACT was formally established on June 19, 2003.

In the wake of expanding NATO missions and areas of operations, the Cold War alliance has undertaken efforts to change and transform to meet contemporary threats to member nations. One such method called, "Baseline for Rapid Iterative Transformational Experimentation" (BRITE) develops new NATO capabilities. A suite of BRITE applications has been designed in response to the Maritime Situational Awareness request. This request, a product of a U.S. international and interagency initiative termed "Maritime Domain Awareness," serves to counter threats to the contest maritime commons including terrorism, human/drug smuggling, piracy, and espionage.

Since Allied Command Atlantic became Allied Command Transformation, commanders have included non-naval officers. The Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Transformation position is currently filled by General Mieczysław Bieniek of the Polish Army. For several years, in a carryover from SACLANT, the Deputy's position was filled by a Royal Navy admiral. A significant change expected is the assumption of command by a French officer, after France rejoined the NATO Command Structure in mid 2009. General Stéphane Abrial, former chief of the French Air Force has assumed command.

Responsibilities

Consistent with North Atlantic Council priorities and objectives, the mission of the Allied Command Transformation is to:

• provide the conceptual framework for the conduct of future combined joint operations;
• define how future operations will be conducted and what capabilities they will need;
• take new operational concepts, from others or self-generated, assess their viability and value, and bring them to maturity through doctrine development, scientific research, experimentation and technological development;
• implement both by persuading nations, individually and collectively, to acquire the capability, and provide the education and training, enabling concepts to be implemented by NATO forces.

As NATO becomes a global entity, ACT is intended to lead military transformation of alliance forces and capabilities, using new concepts such as the NATO Response Force and new doctrines in order to improve the alliance's military effectiveness.

Organization

SACT Headquarters

The command's headquarters is located in Norfolk, Virginia, in the United States. HQ SACT itself is organised into a command group, the Transformation Directorate, the Transformation Support Directorate, National Liaison Representatives, the Partnership for Peace Staff Element and Reservists responsible to HQ SACT.

Transformation Directorate

The Transformation Directorate is headed by the Deputy Chief of Staff (DCOS) Transformation who acts as the Supreme Allied Commander, Transformation’s (SACT) Director for guidance and coordination of the activities of his Directorate Transformation, divided in two divisions: Implementation and Capabilities. Within the full scale of SACT’s transformational responsibilities Deputy Chief of Staff (DCOS) Transformation assist the Chief of Staff (COS) in the execution of his duties with emphasis on deliverables to the Alliance Military Transformation Process in order to enhance NATO’s operational capabilities and to meet NATO’s future requirements.

Implementation Division

Implementation Division, led by Assistant Chief of Staff (ACOS) Implementation, is responsible for guidance and coordination of the activities of two Sub-Divisions, Joint Education and Training (JET) and Joint Experimentation, Exercises and Assessment (JEEA) as well as providing guidance for the Joint Warfare Centre (JWC) and Joint Analysis Lessons Learned Centre (JALLC), in their efforts to enhance training programs, to path on breaking concept development and experimentation, to develop effective programs to capture and implement lessons learned and to press on common standards. This division probably serves as NATO's linkpoint to the annual U.S.-led Coalition Warrior Interoperability Demonstration.

Capabilities Division

Capabilities Division, led by Assistant Chief of Staff (ACOS) Capabilities is responsible for guidance and coordination of the activities of three Sub-Divisions of Strategic Concepts, Policy, and Coordination (SCPI); Future Capabilities, Research and Technology (FCRT) and Defence Planning (Def Plan) in their efforts to staff Capabilities, Concepts and Development products.

Subordinate Commands

Reflecting NATO as a whole, ACT has a worldwide presence. As well as being co-located with United States Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM) in Norfolk, Virginia, there is also an ACT command element located at SHAPE in Mons, Belgium. Additional subordinate commands include:

• Joint Warfare Centre (JWC) located in Stavanger, Norway
• Joint Force Training Centre (JFTC) in Bydgoszcz, Poland
• Joint Analysis and Lessons Learned Centre (JALLC) in Monsanto, Portugal
• NATO Undersea Research Centre (NURC), La Spezia, Italy, NATO School

Oberammergau, other NATO schools, and various Centres of Excellence (see below) also assist in ACT's transformation efforts. Under a customer-funded arrangement, ACT invests about 30 million Euros into research with the NATO Consultation, Command and Control Agency (NC3A) each year to support scientific and experimental programs.

NATO Centres of Excellence

NATO has a total of 19[1] Centres of Excellence (COEs), a Centre of Excellence is a nationally or multinationally sponsored entity, which offers recognised expertise and experience to the benefit of the Alliance, especially in support of transformation. It provides opportunities to enhance education and training, to improve interoperability and capabilities, to assist in doctrine development and/or to test and validate concepts through experimentation. A COE is not a part of the NATO Command Structure (NCS), but forms part of the wider framework supporting NCA. Their activities with NATO are coordinated through HQ ACT.

Principles:

· No duplication or competition with existing NATO capabilities

· Nationally funded

· Conforms to NATO procedures, doctrines, standards and security policies

· Coordinated Programmes of Work provide guidance with inputs from both ACT and ACO organisations

NATO has the following fully accredited COEs:

• The Center for Analysis & Simulation for the Preparation of Air Operations Centre of Excellence (CASPOA) COE in Taverny Air Base, France
• The Civil - Military Cooperation Centre of Excellence (CIMIC) COE in Enschede, The Netherlands
• The Cold Weather Operations Centre of Excellence (CWO) COE in Bodo, Norway
• The Combined Joint Operations from the Sea Centre of Excellence (CJOS) COE in Norfolk, Virginia, United States
• The Command & Control Centre of Excellence (C2) COE in Utrecht, The Netherlands
• The Confined and Shallow Waters Centre of Excellence (CSW) COE in Kiel, Germany
• The Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCD) COE in Tallinn, Estonia
• The Counter Improvised Explosive Devices Centre of Excellence (C-IED) COE in Madrid, Spain
• The Defense Against Terrorism Centre of Excellence (DAT) COE in Ankara, Turkey
• The Human Intelligence Centre of Excellence (HUMINT) COE in Oradea, Romania
• The Joint Air Power Competence Center (JAPCC) COE in Kalkar, Germany
• The Joint Chemical, Biological, Radiation, & Nuclear Defence Centre of Excellence (JCBRN Defence) COE in Vyškov, Czech Republic
• The Military Engineering Centre of Excellence (MILENG) COE in Ingolstadt, Germany
• The Military Medical Centre of Excellence (MED) COE in Budapest, Hungary
• The Naval Mine Warfare Centre of Excellence (EGUERMIN) COE in Oostende, Belgium

NATO also has three not fully accredited COEs:

• Explosive Ordanance Disposal (EOD) COE in Trenčín, Slovakia
• Mountain Warfare (MW) COE in Ljubljana, Slovenia
• Modelling and Simulation (M&S) COE in Rome, Italy

See also

• NATO Undersea Research Centre

External links

• ACT NATO Centres Of Excellence
• ACT Official Website
• NATO Undersea Research Centre (NURC) Official Website