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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
Meeting of the NATO Defense Ministers held in Nice, France in 2005. |
Did you know...
- ...that the last Supreme Allied Commander Europe for NATO was Admiral James G. Stavridis? He was 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 France encompasses an army, a navy, an air force and a military police force. The President of the Republic heads the armed forces, with the title of "chef des armées" - "chief of the military forces". The President is the supreme authority for military matters and is the sole official who can order a nuclear strike. The French military has, as some of its primary objectives, the defence of national territory, the protection of French interests abroad, and the maintenance of global stability.
With a reported personnel strength of 779,450 in 2006 (259,050 regular force, 419,000 regular reserve, and 101,400 law enforcement Gendarmerie), the French Armed Forces constitutes the largest military in European Union and the 20th largest in the world by number of troops. The French Armed Forces however have the 2nd highest expenditure of any military in the world, as well as the 3rd largest nuclear force in the world, only behind the United States and Russia.
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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