Standing NATO Maritime Group 1

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The Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 ( SNMG 1 ) is a permanent maritime operational association of NATO . Within the NATO command structure, it is subordinate to the Allied Command Operations , which has delegated the leadership to the Allied Maritime Command , MARCOM for short in Northwood. Both SNMG are incorporated into the NATO Response Force .

history

The establishment of permanent NATO units

In view of the perceived as threatening armament of the Warsaw Pact and in particular the Soviet Union in the 1960s, NATO decided to set up multinational reaction forces. These units were already subordinate to her as NATO Command Forces in peace and were available for immediate reactions in crisis situations. With their deployment, the armed forces of as many NATO member states as possible should be involved in crisis management in order to show alliance solidarity.

The Allied Command Europe Mobile Force (ACE Mobile Force / AMF) with a land (AMF / L) and an air component (AMF / A) was created as the first reaction force in 1960 , which was subordinate to the NATO Command Area Europe (ACE). As a naval equivalent, the Standing Naval Force Atlantic (STANAVFORLANT / SNFL) was set up under the NATO Command Area Atlantic ( ACLANT ) in 1968 .

Standing Naval Force Atlantic

Ships of the STANAVFORLANT in Boston Harbor 1969

The SNFL was the forerunner of the SNMG 1. It consisted of destroyers and frigates and was founded on January 13, 1968 after the use of a joint training association called Matchmaker (1965-1967) had previously been tested. This association is the oldest, still existing permanent task force of NATO. Since its inception, over 500 ships and more than 150,000 seafarers have been under his command.

In what was then the Atlantic command area, the association was subordinate to the East Atlantic Commander (CINCEASTLANT) in Northwood, Great Britain. Permanent participating nations were the USA, Great Britain, Canada, the Netherlands and the Federal Republic of Germany. The command initially changed between the first four nations mentioned, the German Navy waived the command until 1984 because it was basically subordinate to ACE. The navies of Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Portugal and, since 1990, Spain participate temporarily in the association. The task during the Cold War was to be able to quickly demonstrate alliance solidarity as a multinational association in a crisis.

The association was mainly used in the North Atlantic. With the end of the conflict, the STANAVFORLANT was also deployed in other neighboring regions, including in 1993 for Operation Sharp Guard (Mediterranean). To this end, the fleet was integrated with the Standing Naval Force Mediterranean and the Western European Union Maritime Contingency Force . This operation lasted until 1996, after which the association was moved back to the Atlantic.

In 2004 the group was renamed the Standing NATO Response Force Maritime Group 1 and the regional link was broken. At the same time, the Standing Naval Force Mediterranean (STANAVFORMED) association responsible for the Mediterranean region was renamed Standing NATO Response Force Maritime Group 2 . As such, both took part in Operation Active Endeavor , among other things . The name was later shortened to Standing NATO Maritime Group .

concept

Logo of the commander of SNMG 1 on the aft ship of a frigate

Permanent members of the current, six to ten destroyers , cruisers and frigates association are the Canadian, German, Dutch, British and American navies, each of which has one ship. The association is temporarily reinforced by units from other NATO nations.

Every year, exercises are held within the fleet, which are primarily intended to strengthen multinational cooperation.

Ships of the SNMG 1

Ships currently (as of May 2019) participating in the group:

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. NATO Handbook, Edition 2001 ( Memento of July 17, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  2. Military History Research Office (Ed.): Defense in the Alliance - Planning, Development and Proof of the Bundeswehr 1950 - 1972. Munich 1975, ISBN 3-7637-5137-8 .
  3. ^ Communiqué of the meeting of the NATO Council of Ministers on March 13-14. December 1967 in Brussels
  4. Peter Monte: The role of the Navy of the Federal Republic of Germany in defense planning for Central and Northern Europe from the 1950s to the turn of 1989/90. In: Werner Rahn (Hrsg.): German Marines in Transition - From the Symbol of National Unity to the Instrument of International Security. P. 17ff. [20], ISBN 3-486-57674-7 .