The Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM) is the central command of all

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

maritime forces and the Commander MARCOM is the prime maritime advisor to the Alliance. When directed by the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), it provides the core of the headquarters responsible for the conduct of maritime operations. The command is based at the

Northwood Headquarters Northwood Headquarters is a military headquarters facility of the British Armed Forces in Eastbury, Hertfordshire, England, adjacent to the London suburb of Northwood. It is home to the following military command and control functions: #Headq ...

in Eastbury, Hertfordshire. __TOC__

History

The Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet (

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

), gained a NATO responsibility as Commander-in-Chief Eastern Atlantic Area (CINCEASTLANT), as part of SACLANT, when the NATO military command structure was established in 1953. CINCEASTLANT headquarters was established at the

in northwest London. Commander-in-Chief Eastern Atlantic was redesignated as Commander, Allied Maritime Component Command Northwood ('CC-Mar' or AMCCN) around 2004. The command, which was renamed Allied Maritime Command Northwood in 2010, reports to Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum. At the 2010 NATO Summit in Lisbon it was decided to create a leaner and more effective command structure. This reduced the number of major headquarters from 11 to 7 and, in particular, led to the deactivation of the Allied Maritime Command Naples on 27 March 2013 leaving the newly named MARCOM as the sole maritime component in NATO. MARCOM led

Operation Active Endeavour Operation Active Endeavour was a Navy, maritime operation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It operated in the Mediterranean Sea and was designed to prevent the movement of terrorists or weapons of mass destruction. It had collateral ben ...

, NATO's only Article-5 operation which ended in 2016. MARCOM also led Operation Ocean Shield, NATO's counter-piracy operation in the

Gulf of Aden The Gulf of Aden (; ) is a deepwater gulf of the Indian Ocean between Yemen to the north, the Arabian Sea to the east, Djibouti to the west, and the Guardafui Channel, the Socotra Archipelago, Puntland in Somalia and Somaliland to the south. ...

and

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

which also ended in 2016. Currently, MARCOM leads Operation Sea Guardian designed as a Maritime Security Operation to provide security in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

Role

MARCOM was created through the

North Atlantic Council The North Atlantic Council (NAC) is the principal political decision-making body of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), consisting of permanent representatives of its member countries. It was established by wikisource:North Atlantic ...

to ensure the interoperability of NATO maritime forces, and placed directly under the Supreme Allied Commander Europe to be the leading voice on maritime issues within the Alliance. It is responsible for planning and conducting all NATO maritime operations.

Current Structure

Standing Maritime Groups

MARCOM leads four standing NATO maritime groups, two frigate groups and two mine countermeasures groups. The Standing NATO Maritime Groups are a multinational, integrated maritime force made up of vessels from allied countries. The ships and any aircraft aboard are available to NATO to support Alliance tasking. These groups provide NATO with a continuous maritime capability. The command is also responsible for additional naval assets as they support NATO missions. Current groups are: * Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1) * Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2) * Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 1 (SNMCMG1) * Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 2 (SNMCMG2).

Commanders

Commanders have been: * Admiral Sir Trevor Soar (2010–2012) * Admiral Sir George Zambellas (2012–2013) * Vice Admiral Peter Hudson (2013–2015) * Vice Admiral Sir Clive Johnstone (2015–2019) * Vice Admiral Sir Keith Blount (2019–2023) * Vice Admiral Mike Utley (2023–Present)

References

External links

* Formations of the NATO Military Command Structure 1994–present Buildings and structures in Three Rivers District Naval units and formations Military units and formations established in 2012 Military units and formations in Hertfordshire Organisations based in Hertfordshire {{europe-mil-stub