NATO Military Committee
| NATO Military Committee | |
|---|---|
| Location | Brussels, Belgium |
| Website | NATO.int |
| Commanders | |
| Secretary General | Mark Rutte |
| Chair | Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone |
| Deputy Chair | Lieutenant General Winston P. Brooks Jr. |
| Director General of the International Military Staff | Lieutenant General Remigijus Baltrėnas |
| Insignia | |
| Chair's arms |  |
| Deputy Chair's arms |  |
| International Military Staff's arms |  |
| International Military Staff's flag |  |
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Military Committee (abbr. MC) is the body that is composed of member states' chiefs of defence (CHOD). These national CHODs are regularly represented in the MC by their permanent Military Representatives (MilRep), who often are officers of the rank of general and admiral. Like the Council, from time to time the Military Committee also meets at a higher level, namely at the level of Chiefs of Defence, the most senior military officer in each nation's armed forces.
Role
[edit]
The MC assists and advises the North Atlantic Council (NAC), Defence Planning Committee (DPC), and Nuclear Planning Group (NPG) on military matters including policy and strategy.[1] Its principal role is to provide direction and advice on military policy and strategy. It provides guidance on military matters to the Supreme Allied Commanders of Allied Command Operations and Allied Command Transformation, whose representatives attend its meetings, and is responsible for the overall conduct of the military affairs of the Alliance under the authority of the Council. The executive body of the MC is the International Military Staff (IMS).[2]
Current NATO Chiefs of Defence
[edit]| Country | CHOD | Military Branch | Took Office |
|---|---|---|---|
Albania
|
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Lieutenant General Arben Kingji
|
Land Forces | 3 August 2022 |
Belgium
|
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General Frederik Vansina
|
Air Force | 4 July 2025 |
Bulgaria
|
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Admiral Emil Eftimov
|
Navy | 30 March 2020 |
Canada
|
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|
Army | 28 June 2024 |
Croatia
|
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Colonel General Tihomir Kundid
|
Army | 8 March 2024 |
Czech Republic
|
Lieutenant General Miroslav Hlavac |
Land Forces | 1 July 2026 |
Denmark
|
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General Michael Hyldgaard
|
Royal Army | 1 June 2025 |
Estonia
|
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Lieutenant General Andrus Merilo
|
Land Forces | 1 July 2024 |
Finland
|
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General Janne Jaakkola
|
Army | 1 April 2024 |
|
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|
Air and Space Force | 1 September 2025 |
|
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|
Army | 23 March 2023 |
Greece
|
General Dimitrios Choupis
|
Army | 12 January 2024 |
Hungary
|
Colonel General Sándor Zsolt |
Ground Forces | 1 June 2026 |
Iceland
|
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Jónas G. Allansson
|
N/a | 2022 |
Italy
|
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|
Army | 4 October 2024 |
Latvia
|
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Major General Kaspars Pudāns
|
National Guard | 21 November 2024 |
Lithuania
|
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General Raimundas Vaikšnoras
|
Land Forces | 24 July 2024 |
Luxembourg
|
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General Steve Thull
|
Army | 29 September 2020 |
Montenegro
|
Brigadier General Miodrag Vuksanović
|
Ground Army | 3 June 2025 |
Netherlands
|
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General Onno Eichelsheim
|
Royal Air and Space Force | 15 April 2021 |
North Macedonia
|
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Major General Saško Lafčiski
|
Ground Forces | 18 August 2024 |
Norway
|
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General Eirik Kristoffersen
|
Army | 17 August 2020 |
Poland
|
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|
Territorial Defence Force | 10 October 2023 |
Portugal
|
|
Army | 28 February 2026 |
Romania
|
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|
Land Forces | 30 November 2023 |
|
|
Air Force | 7 May 2026 |
|
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Major General Boštjan Močnik
|
Ground Force | 15 December 2025 |
Spain
|
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Admiral General Teodoro Esteban López Calderón
|
Navy | 27 January 2021 |
Sweden
|
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General Michael Claesson
|
Army | 1 October 2024 |
Turkey
|
|
Land Forces | 5 August 2025 |
United Kingdom
|
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Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton
|
Royal Air Force | 27 June 2025 |
United States
|
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|
Air Force | 11 April 2025 |
Source[3]
History
[edit]Until 2008 the Military Committee excluded France, due to that country's 1966 decision to remove itself from NATO's integrated military structure, which it rejoined in 1995. Until France rejoined NATO, it was not represented on the Defence Planning Committee, and this led to conflicts between it and NATO members. Such was the case in the lead up to Operation Iraqi Freedom.[4]
Established in 1949 during the first Council session in Washington, the Military Committee is NATO's highest military authority and advises the NAC and NATO's strategic commanders, the Supreme Allied Commander Transformation and the Supreme Allied Commander Europe.[5]
- Arms of historical NATO commands
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See also
[edit]- Structure of NATO
- International Military Staff
- Chairman of the NATO Military Committee
- European Union Military Committee
- ↑ Excluded from the Committee in 1966–2008.
- ↑ As West Germany. East Germany became part of NATO after German reunification on 3 October 1990
References
[edit]- ↑ NATO Handbook, 50th Anniversary Edition, 1998-99, 234.
- ↑ International Military Staff, Jun 15, 2017, retrieved Feb 20, 2018.
- ↑ "Military Representatives". Organization | NATO. Retrieved 2026-05-04.
- ↑ Fuller, Thomas (18 February 2003). "Reaching accord, EU warns Saddam of his 'last chance'". International Herald Tribune. Archived from the original on 12 October 2007. Retrieved 15 July 2007.
- ↑ https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_49633.htm, NATO Military Committee, Dec 7, 2017, retrieved Feb 15, 2018.
External links
[edit]| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
