Standing NATO Maritime Group 2

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Flag of NATO

The Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG 2) is a permanent maritime unit of NATO in the Mediterranean and is subordinate to the NATO Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM) in Northwood near London and is part of the NATO Response Force .

history

SNMG 2 was founded in 1969 as the Naval On-Call Force for the Mediterranean (NAVOCFORMED) and subordinated to the Commander Allied Naval Forces Southern Europe (COMNAVSOUTH). Based on the model of the Standing Naval Force Atlantic (STANAVFORLANT / SNFL), this association was formed by the navies of various countries for use in the Mediterranean region. In contrast to the STANAVFORLANT, however, it was not constantly active, but was only activated for exercises and operations, as the name on-call-force suggests. The NAVOCFORMED served, among other things, to demonstrate NATO alliance solidarity towards the Soviet Navy, which is very active in the Mediterranean . When many NATO units were withdrawn from the Mediterranean during the First Gulf War in 1987 , the German Navy strengthened NAVOCFORMED for the first time and has been a permanent participant ever since.

During the Second Gulf War 1990–1991, the NAVOCFORMED was permanently activated and used for maritime surveillance in the Mediterranean area. During this time it was decided to convert them into a permanent association. That happened on April 30, 1992 under the name of Standing Naval Force Mediterranean (STANAVFORMED / SNFM). On January 1, 2005, the association was briefly renamed Standing NATO Response Force Maritime Group 2 , before it was given its current, shorter name in 2006.

concept

The standard group of eight to ten ships often includes units from the German Navy , the Dutch Navy , the British Royal Navy , the Greek Navy, the Italian Navy , the Turkish Navy, the Spanish Navy and the United States Navy . At times, other NATO countries also participate in the association.

Exercises are held annually, the main aim of which is to strengthen multinational cooperation.

Calls

From 1992 the SNFM was used as part of the international embargo against Yugoslavia . She participated in Operations Maritime Monitor and the Maritime Guard, and then participated in joint Operation Sharp Guard with the NATO Standing Naval Forces Atlantic and the Western European Union Naval Force of the Western European Union (WEU) .

During the war in Kosovo , the SNFM was involved in Operation Allied Force . Units of the SNMG 2 were regularly deployed to Operation Active Endeavor as part of the fight against terror in the Mediterranean. This operation was replaced in November 2016 by Operation Sea Guardian , in which SNMG 2 also participates.

From October to December 2008 floating units of the SNMG 2 took part in Operation Allied Provider against piracy off the coast of Somalia . This also included the protection of ship convoys of the World Food Program (WFP).

As of July 2009, their units are to replace forces from SNMG 1 as part of Operation Ocean Shield , who contributed to the protection of shipping routes off the Horn of Africa during Operation Allied Protector .

From June to December 2015 the German frigate Hamburg (F 220) was the flagship of the SNMG 2. Under the leadership of the German flotilla admiral Jörg Klein and with the participation of the flagship Bonn (A 1413) , the SNMG began a reconnaissance mission on February 19, 2016 , Surveillance and observation of boat and ship movements in the Aegean Sea between Greece and Turkey. This NATO activity in the Aegean in the context of the refugee crisis is intended to cooperate with the EU Frontex mission “Poseidon Sea” and contribute to curbing the uncontrolled flow of refugees towards Europe. Four weeks after the start of the action, interim results became known, the flow of refugees had not been contained, only a relocation was observed.

On June 19, 2016, Flotilla Admiral Kay-Achim Schönbach took over the management of the association with the flagship Karlsruhe .

Units of the SNMG 2

Ships involved in the group:

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Official NATO information on Sea Guardian , accessed August 3, 2018
  2. ^ The Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2). ( Memento of May 15, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) CC-Mar Naples.
  3. ↑ NATO begins observation mission in the Aegean. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung. February 19, 2016, accessed August 26, 2020 .
  4. ↑ Smugglers react to NATO operations with evasive maneuvers. In: Spiegel online. 17th March 2016.
  5. ↑ PIZ EinsFüKdoBw editorial team: Change of leadership in the Aegean. In: www. Einsatz.bundeswehr.de. June 19, 2016, accessed June 21, 2016 .
  6. ↑ NATO: Standing NATO Maritime Group May 2 , 2019, accessed May 14, 2019 .