40 NAVY NEWS, JULY 2009
Do you fancy an Italian job?
HOW much do you know who with his team pulled together
about the British contribution
● HMS Chatham refuels at sea
from eight other NATO HQs,
during a Noble Midas exercise
to a three-star operationally
showing the proven capability of
There are numerous clubs and
deployable maritime
this small but highly-flexible staff.
societies providing recreational
headquarters in Naples?
The presence of naval staff
in a Land HQ also showed the
opportunities for the whole family,
An HQ which is the current
joint utility that is available
and personnel have access to the
maritime component command
across NATO, and the lessons
US Navy’s Carney Park – an
(MCC) of choice for the NATO
learned in Kabul have enhanced
extinct volcanic crater with golf
Response Force and one with
STRIKFORNATO’s approach to
course, sports fields, picnic area,
recent operational experience in
maritime operational planning.
play park and swimming pool.
Afghanistan?
But it is not all operations and
The NATO yacht and dinghy
An HQ which includes a Royal
exercises; one of the thrills of a
club is also on the doorstep.
Navy two-star deputy commander
posting to STRIKFORNATO is
There is even a British-run
and 17 RN/RM officers and
living in Naples, perhaps Italy’s
multinational Naples field gun
NCOs?
most frenetic and vibrant city.
team which runs in the annual
The HQ in question is Naval
Service personnel and families
competition at HMS Collingwood.
Striking and Support Forces NATO
find themselves amongst the
There are other employment
– STRIKFORNATO for short
outstanding Roman and Greek
opportunities for serving UK
(although not very short – Ed).
architectural sites of Pompeii,
personnel in the Joint Force
STRIKFORNATO is little
Herculaneum and Paestum.
Command HQ itself as well as at
known to many Naval personnel.
Vesuvius, the only active volcano
the MCC HQ nearby at Nisida.
Sitting inside the perimeter
on mainland Europe, dominates
Those who come here with an
of Joint Forces HQ Naples, yet
the skyline, and each year the club-
open, optimistic attitude love it;
reporting directly to Supreme
swingers organise a 10km run to the
many seek to extend their drafts.
Allied Commander Europe
summit – all nations are welcome to
The unclassified website
(SACEUR), STRIKFORNATO is based in Lisbon, with day-to-day exercises for staff who can and of experience there are always
participate but few can come close
www.afsouth.nato.int/
capable of commanding multiple operational commitments driven do deploy on to a maritime afloat opportunities to support exercises,
to the record-breaking time set by organization/STRIKFORNATO/
carrier and expeditionary strike by a deputy commander, currently command platform, usually USS courses and conferences, providing
STRIKFORNATO’s Maj Fin Walls StrikForNATO.htm has links to
groups, to support maritime strike Rear Admiral Ian Corder RN Mount Whitney. worldwide travel opportunities.
RM, who completed it in under 45 other nearby NATO organisations
and multi-national amphibious who, during this NATO Response The scalability of With a strong expeditionary
minutes – anything around an hour and the UK Support Unit.
task force expeditionary Force Standby period, is also the STRIKFORNATO has been background, STRIKFORNATO
is considered good. Take a look, see what you
operations, including US carrier commander of the MCC. proved when the recently-formed also leads and hosts the annual
The famous Amalfi coast and think – or does the family get a
and expeditionary strike groups. Other Naval Service personnel two-star maritime force was Alligator conference, an
Sorrento are both less than an vote to spend time in a fantastic
And this has been put to the range from a RM colonel to an AB, certified as the MCC for NRF 12. amphibious seminar which this
hour away, and in the winter the part of the world whilst you have
test in the past few operationally- and after the US, the UK has the The then commander, Rear year was held on board Dutch
ski resort of Roccaraso is just a rewarding and challenging job in a
focussed, highly-demanding years. second largest representation in Admiral Chris Snow, led the MCC ship HMNLS Johann De Witt.
two-hour drive. relaxed NATO HQ?
In the first part of 2008, the HQ the HQ – although this is only 17 during exercise Noble Midas 08 in The capability and flexibility of
produced the core of the NATO per cent of the manpower, such is the central Med, taking command the staff was proven last year when
International Security Assistance the diversity of the organisation. of a task force consisting of STRIKFORNATO deployed half
Force (ISAF) HQ in Afghanistan, STRIKFORNATO is a 30 ships and submarines from of its staff to ISAF HQ in Kabul
and as the New Year dawned deployable HQ with staff at five ten nations in a crisis response – a huge challenge, and not many
STRIKFORNATO stood up as days’ notice to move; its operational operation training scenario, where would have guessed that the core
the two-star Maritime Component liaison and reconnaissance team is NATO was appointed by the of a NATO HQ in a land-locked
HQ for NATO Response Force
at 72 hours’ notice. UN to build up an immediate country actually came from a
NRF 12.
This underpins its role as reaction capability in and around maritime HQ.
But what is more, there are
NATO’s only permanently- a fictitious country. STRIKFORNATO spent
opportunities for RN/RM
dedicated High Readiness Force The STRIKFORNATO staff, autumn 2007 preparing
personnel to serve in this unique
(Maritime) Battlestaff, and the drawn from the US, UK, Greece, themselves, the core planning team
and dynamic organisation and to
only deployable HQ that is capable Turkey, Germany, Spain, Italy, the being led by Brig Jim Dutton RM,
live in a fantastic part of Europe.
of commanding at the expanded Netherlands, France and Poland,
With a peace-time establishment
task force (three-star) from ashore have a significant array of specialist ● COMSTRIKFORNATO staff
of 99 staff drawn from ten
or afloat. skills ranging from carrier strike gather on USS Mount Whitney
nations, STRIKFORNATO is
As such, outside of operational operations to small boat in-shore during Exercise Noble Midas 08
commanded by a US commander,
deployments, there are regular expertise, and with such a wealth Picture: NATO
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