Joint Force Command Lisbon was one of the largest

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

bases in south Europe

Allied Command Operations Allied Command Operations (ACO) is one of the two strategic commands of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the other being Allied Command Transformation (ACT). The headquarters and commander of ACO is Supreme Headquarters Allied Powe ...

. It was based in Oeiras, near

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of the ...

. In 2009 a French lieutenant general took command from the previous US Navy admiral who had filled the post for a number of years. It was deactivated in 2012.

History

From 1972, for many years during the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...

, Oeiras was home to Commander Iberian Atlantic. Commanders during this period included Rear Admiral Eugene B. Fluckley and Robert Erly of the U.S. Navy. On September 18, 1982, the Defence Committee of the North Atlantic Council redesignated Commander IBERLANT (COMIBERLANT) as Commander-in-Chief IBERLANT (CINCIBERLANT) and the Portuguese Vice-Admiral Ilídio Elias da Costa took command. CINCIBERLANT was responsible to

SACLANT The Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic (SACLANT) was one of two supreme commanders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), the other being the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR). The SACLANT led Allied Command Atlantic was based at ...

in Norfolk, Virginia. On 1 September 1999, the CINCIBERLANT command was upgraded to CINCSOUTHLANT, a NATO regional command with new

terms of reference Terms of reference (TOR) define the purpose and structures of a project, committee, meeting, negotiation, or any similar collection of people who have agreed to work together to accomplish a shared goal. Terms of reference show how the object in ...

and a greater area of responsibility. The headquarters becomes Regional Headquarters South Atlantic (RHQ SOUTHLANT). On 12 June 2003, command authority for CINCSOUTHLANT was transferred from SACLANT to SACEUR, NATO's European command in Belgium. On 4 December 2006, SACEUR rewarded Joint Command Lisbon with a Campaign Pennant to recognize the operational contribution during the Pakistan Earthquake Relief Operation. In 2009 Joint Command Lisbon was responsible for providing assistance to the

African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the Africa ...

on request, principally as regards airlift for the mission in Darfur; preparing staff to command the

NATO Response Force The NATO Response Force (NRF) is a high-readiness force comprising land, air, sea and special forces units capable of being deployed quickly. Until February 2022, when NATO activated it in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine,JAMES KITFIEL(1 ...

; mounting a sea-based Combined Joint Task Force Headquarters; and support for cooperation and dialogue under the

Partnership for Peace The Partnership for Peace (PfP; french: Partenariat pour la paix) is a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) program aimed at creating trust between the member states of NATO and other states mostly in Europe, including post-Soviet states; ...

and

Mediterranean Dialogue The Mediterranean Dialogue, first launched in 1994, is a forum of cooperation between NATO and seven countries of the Mediterranean. Its stated aim is "to create good relations and better mutual understanding and confidence throughout the region, pr ...

programmes.ACO Sitrep, accessed March 2009 During the 2000s (decade), the commander was a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

vice admiral who simultaneously held the position of commander of

United States Sixth Fleet The Sixth Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy operating as part of United States Naval Forces Europe. The Sixth Fleet is headquartered at Naval Support Activity Naples, Italy. The officially stated mission of the Sixth Fleet ...

and commander of

Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO (STRIKFORNATO) is the principal naval service command of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Allied Command Operations (ACO), replacing Naval Striking and Support Forces Southern Europe (STRIKFORS ...

(STRIKFORNATO, the old STRIKFORSOUTH), both located in Naples, Italy. The admiral resided in Lisbon and commanded the three commands separated by the western Mediterranean through a rigorous travel schedule and electronic means, including frequent video teleconferences. Vice Admiral Bruce W. Clingan was the last U.S. commander to hold the three commands simultaneously.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Allied Joint Force Command Lisbon
Formations of the NATO Military Command Structure 1994–present Organisations based in Lisbon Military units and formations disestablished in 2012