A T L A N T IC U N IT Y ____A N E C E S S IT Y

he freedom of the N o rth A t l a n tic Ocean is essential

to the overall defense of N A T O . The guardian of the

North A tlantic Area is NATO's A llied Command Atl antic.

The Allied Command Atlantic has been established to

operationally control the largest reservoir of naval

might the world has ever known An integrated navy of

highly trained and combat ready forces, A C LA N T is

continually on the o lert to insure the freedom and

integrity of the North A tla n tic A llia n c e .

 NATO S GUARDIAN OF THE ATLANTIC
g IM P L Y stated, the prim ary task of
the Supreme Allied Commander At­
lantic (SACLANT) u n d e r w artim e
conditions is: "To guard the N orth
A tlantic sea lanes for the NATO na­
tions and deny the use of the North
Atlantic Ocean area to any enemy."
SACLANT’s responsibilities include full
protection of such im portant N orth At­
lantic islands as Iceland. Greenland, the
Azores, Bermuda and the Faeroes, and
support of the land commanders of the
North A tlantic Treaty O rganization.
Several considerations must be kept
in mind by Allied Command A tlantic
planners should there be a future war
involving the NATO com plex; among
them, the following three are listed as
most pertinent:
F irst, all the nations in Europe
are dependent upon the heavy tonnage
of seaborne traffic by cargo, passenger,
and tan k er shipB for their economic
support in peacetime and for their
reenforcem ent and survival in time of
war.
Second, if the U . S. and Canada
were denied the use of the seas, they
would be diveBted of their allies and
forced to retrea t to th eir own shore­
lines to fight un-aided from their con­
tinental bases. In short, the Alliance
would be physically divided.
And third, the loss of the seas
denies any advantage gained through
atomic superiority ashore. These same
g reat w aters, which touch the shores
of most of the 15 NATO nations, then
become the strategic area for direct
attacks on each of the N orth A tlantic
countries, as well as forces in the field.
Necessity for the protection of con­
voys is, of course, another vital reason
for controlling the N o r t h A tlantic
Ocean. The strategic reserve for the
ground forces in Europe m ust be safely
transported and landed on the con­
tinent. Supplies of m any sorts m ust be
available to the allied forces engaged
in combat. Massive logistics require
sea-lift capability. History has shown
th at any enemy m ust strangle this life­
line in order to win on land. Staff
planning for the development and
train in g of forces for the im portant
mission of protection of NATO mer­
chant shipping takes on a high priority
in the Allied Command A tlantic.
Recent advances in m ilitary science
and weapons systems have made it all
the more urgent th a t control of the
sea does not fall into enemy hands.
Seaborne weapons now exist which are
capable of striking not only our coasts
but inland as well.
 H eadquarters o f the Suprem e Allied Com m ander A tlan tic

THE ALLIED C OMMAND ATLANTIC

^ L L IE D Command A tlantic (abbrev­ deny to the enemy in the event of w ar.

iated ACLANT) was form ally acti­
vated in April 1952, three years after
the birth of NATO.
Geographically speaking, the area
encompassing the A tlantic Command
extends from the N orth Pole to the
Tropic of Cancer and from the coastal
w aters of N orth America to those of
Europe and Africa. W ithin its fixed
boundaries, there are approximately 12
million square miles of ocean area to
Nine of the 15 NATO nations con­
tribute to the forces and facilities th at
comprise the A tlantic Command. In­
cluded are elements from Canada, Den­
m ark, France, The Netherlands, N or­
way, Portugal, The U nited Kingdom,
and the U nited States. Iceland, which
has no armed forces, contributes base
facilities for this international Navy.
In the years following World W ar
II, units of NATO cruised the North
 ALLIED COMMAND A TL A N T IC
SUPREME ALLIED
COMMANDER, ATLANTIC
DEPUTY SUPREM E
A L L IE D COM MANDER

C O M M A N D E R IN CHIEF COMMANDER C O M M A N D ER IN C H E F
WESTERN ATLANTIC AREA STRININE FLEET ATLANTIC EASTERN ATLANTIC AREA

C O M M A N D ER M ARITIME AIR
EASTERN ATLANTIC AREA
COMMANDER
COMMANDER
OCEAN
SO B AREA S U B M A R I N E TORCE
EASTERN ATLANTIC AREA

COMMANDER
NORTHERN
COMMANDER COMMANDER SUB AREA
C A N A D I A N A l l A N I IC NORTH AMERICAN COMMANDER
SUB AREA ANTI SU RM ARINE DEFENCE B A Y OE B I S C A Y
FORCE ATE A N I IC COMMANDER
SUBAREA
MARITIME AIR
NORTHERN SU B AREA
ISLAND COMMANDER
BERMUDA ISLAND COMMANDER
MADEIRA
COMMANDER
ISLAND COMM ANDER CENIRAl
SOB AREA ISLAND COMMANDER
CRE IN lA N D
ICELAND
COMM ANDER M ARITIME AIR
ISLAND COMM ANDER CENTRAI SUB AREA
ISLAND COMM ANDER
AZDRES
FAEROES

M ARITIM E A IR CH AIN O F COMMAND

A tlantic as instrum ents of their own
country’s national strength, entirely in­
dependent of one another. Should it be­
come necessary, these same units today
would serve together in a naval force
more powerful than the combined naval
strength of the Allied and Axis powers
of W orld W ar II.
Located in Norfolk, V irginia, the
headquarters of t h e Supreme Allied
Commander A tlantic is the first allied
m ilitary command to be perm anently
established on U nited S tates soil in
peacetime.
SACLANT’s headquarters is m anned
b y approxim ately 1 4 0 allied Army,
Navy, Air Force and M arine officers,
plus several civilian officials. Clerical
and guard duties are perform ed by en­
listed personnel of the U.S. Navy and
M arine Corps.
In peacetime the staff of the Su­
preme A l l i e d Commander provides
planning, evaluation and analysis of
intelligence, along w ith other functions
necessary to m eet the responsibilities
of the Commander under w artim e con­
ditions.
The Allied Command A tlantic is
divided into t w o m ajor geographical
command areas — the W estern A tlantic
A rea and the E astern A tlantic Area.
W ithin this broad fram ew ork there are
three principal subordinate commanders
directly responsible to SACLANT. These
are: the Commander-in-Chief W estern
A tlantic A rea (CINCWESTLANT), the
Commander-in-Chief E astern A tlantic
A rea (CINCEASTLANT) and the Com­
m ander Striking Fleet A tlantic (COM-
STRIKFLTLANT) who is a functional
rath er than an area commander.
CINCW ESTLANT and CINCEAST­
LANT are responsible for executing
tasks assigned by SACLANT w ithin
th eir respective command areas. Their
m ain tasks are the control and pro­
tection of allied shipping, denial of
their area to the enemy, and the defense
of the NATO coastline, w ithin their
area, from seaborne attack.
The EASTLANT command includes
a M aritime A ir Commander, who ad­
vises CINCEASTLANT o f M aritim e
A ir m atters and commands a Maritim e
A ir Force in his behalf.
T h e Allied Command A tlantic’s
S triking F leet is a mobile, elusive a ir­
field complex, a t sea, with its own
offense, defense and support built in.
It is geared for any type of w arfare,
from the so-called brush fire conflict
to nuclear w ar. The fleet would be well
dispersed against atomic attack and
would cover an area about the size of
the state of Maine. Because it is always
on the move it would not be subject
to pin-pointing for g u i d e d missile
attacks like stationary targ ets ashore.
The S triking Fleet could project its
atomic offensive power rig h t into the
h eart of enemy naval bases and a ir­
fields th at are the m ain source of
th reat to SACLANT’s control of the
A tlantic.
Activation of a third m ajor sub­
ordinate area command, the Iberian
A tlantic Area, is under consideration.
 THE THREAT
TMMEDIATELY following W orld W ar
II, the Soviet Navy consisted of one
or two old battleships, a handful of
ancient cruisers, some 200 submarines
of various size and vintage and a small
obsolete naval air arm . D uring the 10
years following, the Soviet Navy rose
in size from seventh to second place
am ong the navies of the world. And
today, the Soviet Navy is known to
have in operation a t least 25 modern
cruisers, over 200 modern destroyers
and escort vessels and more than 400
submarines. T his large naval force is
supported by a strong shore based naval
air arm composed of m o d e r n je t
bombers and helicopters.
In a w ar between Communism and
the Free World, the Soviet Navy, one
of the m ost powerful in the world
today, would come to play an im portant
part. I t is designed to challenge W est­
ern control and free use of the seas.
The non-existence of a irc ra ft carriers
in the Soviet Navy does not detract
from its potential for launching missile
strikes against W estern territories and
threatening our vital flow of shipping.
Needless to say, th e Soviet Navy,
with the largest subm arine fleet ever,
concentrates its m ain striking power
in this underseas fleet. Several Soviet
subm arines are known to be capable
of launching ballistic missiles, a n d
furtherm ore, we have no reason to
doubt Mr. Khrushchev’s claims th at
they have introduced nuclear propul­
sion into some of th eir new er sub­
m arines.
The Soviet Navy’s potential for
launching missile strikes and challeng­
ing the free movement of ships in the
A tlantic w ith subm arines, a irc ra ft and
surface forces constitutes a very serious
th re a t to NATO. The A tlantic com­
m and’s plan to combat this th re a t is
focused on the m ilitary objective to
control th e N orth A tlantic.
 mm
The N orth A t i- a n t ic C o v n c Ii.

is th c ch ic f authority o f .n a t o .
is c o mposed o f representatives o f
the fifteen member countries. It
decidcs on a l l matters, both civil
and military, concerning the A l­
It
posed of the Chiefs-of-.StafT of
each mem ber country or their
representatives. T he Military
Com m ittee sits in W ashington,
IX C.

liance. All its decisions must be

taken unanimously. T h e seat o f
the C o uncil is in Paris.

The C o u n c il C o m m itte e s
advise the Council on speci­
fic. matters. Experts from all
n a t o countries take part in
the Com mittee meetings.
T here are committees on
military, political, economic,
scientific and m any other
civil questions.

The S u p rem e A llie d C o m m an d ers,

T h e S e c re ta ry is C hair­
G en eral
m an o f the Council. He is assisted by
an International Staff draw n from
all n a t o countries. T hey are respon­
sible to the Secretary G eneral only,
and not to their own national govern­
ments. T hey work at n a t o H ead­
: / quarters in Paris.
<■
The European Command covers the land
area from the N orth C ape to N orth
Africa, and from the A tlantic to the
Eastern border of T urkey. The Atlantic
Ocean Command is responsible for the de­
fence of the sea lanes between N orth
America and Europe. The Channel Com­
mand covers the English C hannel and the
Southern N orth Sea.
J L
undef the Standing Group, are respons­
ible for the developm ent of defence
plans for their respective areas, the
determ ination o f force requirements
and the deploym ent and exercise of the
forces under their com m and. T he C a­
nada-U S Regional Planning G roup
develops plans for the defence of the
North Am erican continent.
_ _
 PLANNING A T SA C LANT
rp H E Soviet Union has built her naval
stren g th around a powerful sub­
m arine fleet. Naval forces of the Allied
Command A tlantic have been developed
around the attack a irc ra ft carrier. Ele­
m ents from these forces are designed
with the capability of striking all ta r ­
gets contributing to the enemy’s naval
strength. Today’s airc ra ft carrier is a
highly mobile and powerful air base a t
sea. It is also an extremely evasive
ta rg e t to locate dr attack.
Allied Command A tlantic planning
has necessarily considered the possi­
bility of w ar involving nuclear ex­
change. However, there exists a possi­
bility th a t w ar, if it comes, m ight be
of the so-called conventional type. In
tm s event the Allied S triking Fleet,
w i t h its amphibious assault forces,
would also be essential. Ship to shore
and vertical envelopment amphibious
techniques have been highly developed
in the Allied Command naval force.
W ith the Soviet subm arine threat
playing such a dom inant role in naval
w arfare planning, Allied Command A t­
lantic’s naval forces have naturally
taken preventative m easures along this
line. The g reater p a rt of joint NATO
naval train in g maneuvers are centered
on developing modern anti-subm arine
forces for hunting and killing. The
ASW Team, consisting of ships, a ir­
craft and subm arines is a highly effec­
tive combination which can move quickly
from one critical area to another to
combat thia th reat.
A nti-subm arine w arfa re constantly
presents new problems which require
careful attention. As enemy submarines
improve, the complex problem of seek­
ing out and destroying them expands
accordingly. Keeping ahead of t h i s
th re a t is difficult but it is being met
by the combined efforts of scientists,
industrialists and m ilitary men in the
Alliance.
Valuable assistance in the solving
of anti-subm arine w arfare problems is
provided by an ASW research center
established by SACLANT a t La Spezia,
Italy in 1959. H ere scientists and tech­
nicians, supported by ASW inform ation
and data from participating nations,
concentrate research into the problems
created and study tow ard advancement
of equipm ent and techniques.

N aval Farces o f the Allied Command A tlan tic have been developed
around the A ttack A ircra ft Carrier
 THE KEY TO EFFECTIVE DEFENSE

HIGH sta te of readiness is m ain­
tained by forces of the Allied Com­
mand A tlantic. Although t h e basic
train in g and readiness of the several
naval components is a national respon­
sibility, it is necessary th at the Su­
preme Allied Commander when called
upon to 8top aggression has at his
disposal a naval force th a t is more
than an assortm ent of national naval
units. They m ust operate as one smooth-
working. thoroughly coordinated force.
During the past decade a state of
readiness, for any type of w ar, has
been reached a n d tested through a
variety of train in g exercises. Each
year the Allied Command A tlantic con­
ducts 10 to 14 combined fleet m aneuvers
designed to develop team work and to
apply common doctrine am ong several
participating navies. These train in g ex­
ercises range from sim ulated activities
in convoy routing and control, con­
ducted solely from the headquarters in­
volved, t o full-scale carrier striking
fleet m aneuvers with simulat ed nuclear
strikes, anti-subm arine w arfare opera­
tions, minesweeping exercises and the

U. S. a ircra ft being prepared fo r launch from British carrier during a

SACLANT training exercise
 Canadian Maritime Patrol A ircraft

actual escort of convoys under condi­ the Allied Command Europe and the
tions of attack by “enemy” forces. Channel Command are capable.

Every other year a full-scale NATO- NATO’s forces a r e capable of

wide tra in in g exercise is held to test
the team work a n d readiness of the
forces and commands. Exercises such
as these clearly dem onstrate the brand
of coordinated and integrated w arfare
of which the Allied Command A tlantic,
defeating aggression. By welding the
experience and skill on the seas of the
m aritim e nations of NATO into an in­
tegrated, highly trained naval force,
we have in being, and immediately
available, a formidable team.

N e therlands and British destroyers prepare to refuel from British

fleet oiler during a S A C L A N T trainin g exercise.
TH« NATO COUNTRICS

o defend their liberty

T
1. B E L G I U M - 2. C A N A D A
3. D E N M A R K • 4. F R A N C E
S FED. REP. O F G E R M A N Y
«. G R E E C E . 7. I C E L A N D and way o f life against
B. I T A L Y • f. L U X E M B O U R G
10 NETHERLANDS
11. N O R W A Y . 12. P O R T U G A L the threat of Communist dom­
13. TURKEY
H.
1S.
UNITED K INGD OM
U N I T E D STATES
ination the democratic na­
tions of the West decided to
combine their resources and
united in.NATO, the North
Atlantic T reaty Organization.

O n April 4th, 1949, the N orth Atlantic T reaty

was signed by twelve countries. It contained
a clear warning to any would-be aggressor:
an attack against any of us shall be considered
an attack against us all. Three- years later
Greece and Turkey joined the Alliance, and
in 1955 the Federal R epublic of Germ any «»10 c o i m i i i i

became n a t o ’* fifteenth m em ber.

g s s m i n in e
These are the three main characteristics o f N A T O -
the North Atlantic Treaty O rga n ization:

N A T O Í» a defensive alliance. It preserve» peace by

discouraging aggression.

N A T O u more than a military alliance. It is

building a community of like-minded nations.

NATO is for disarmament subject to international

control.

Only the power ol retalia­

tion can discourage a
would-be aggressor. In the
atomic age war does not

Disarmament is suicide
unless there is international
control the touchstone of
a sincere desire for peace.

NATO rct'raim from the threat or use of force in

any '.namier inconsistent with the purposes of the
United Nations.
 T h r o u g h NATO, the North Atlantic O c ean Area is a

bond for friendly commerce and mutual protecti on of the na­

tions who are joined fast in a sincere hope for world peace.

Through strength and singleness of purpose the waters of the

Atlantic will always be a bond between nations of good will.

I t is the intent of the Supreme Allied Commander

Atlantic that control o f these waters shall never pass from

the hands o f the nations which border its waters and de­

pend so much upon this ocean area for their freedom

and w ell-being.
10th. A n n lm m u
1962