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85-431: ACO's and SHAPE's commander is titled Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), and is always a U.S. four-star general officer or flag officer who also serves as Commander, U.S. European Command . From 1951 to 2003, SHAPE was the headquarters of Allied Command Europe ( ACE ). Since 2003 SHAPE has been the headquarters of ACO, controlling NATO also outside Europe. Even though the geographical scope of its activities

170-700: A 'tripwire.' The policy enunciated in Military Committee document MC14/1, issued in December 1952, saw the defence of Germany as principally a delaying action, to allow a line of resistance to be established along the lines of the IJssel and Rhine rivers. The conventional forces would attempt to hold this line while the allied strategic air forces defeated the Soviets and their allies by destroying their economy and infrastructure. What this strategy meant for

255-433: A 2 km Belgian Army summer training camp north of the city of Mons , southwest of Brussels, which was an area in serious need of additional economic investment. In September 1966, NATO agreed that Belgium should host SHAPE at Casteau . SHAPE closed its facility at Rocquencourt near Paris on 30 March 1967, and the next day held a ceremony to mark the opening of the new headquarters at Casteau. From 1951 to 2003, SHAPE

340-545: A following car. Authorities later attributed responsibility for the attack to the German Red Army Faction . Haig's successor, General Bernard W. Rogers , became somewhat of an institution in Europe as the former U.S. Army chief of staff occupied the office for nearly eight years; a brief outcry arose from the other NATO capitals when Rogers was slated for retirement by the U.S. administration in 1987. Rogers

425-663: A good account of Montgomery's exacting, tireless approach to improving the command's readiness, which caused a good deal of bruised feelings in doing so. In establishing the command, the first NATO planners drew extensively on WUDO plans and personnel. Devising command arrangements in the Central Region, which contained the bulk of NATO's forces, proved to be much more complicated. General Eisenhower considered naming an overall Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) there as well but soon realized it would be difficult to find an arrangement that would satisfy all three major powers with forces in

510-689: A longer sustainment capability in combat than the NRF, which is limited to 30 days. The Multinational Corps Northeast headquartered in Szczecin , Poland, was seen along with the downgraded Greek corps, as the third echelon deployable force in the NATO rapid deployment capability. The Eurocorps HQ, in Strasbourg , France, is an EU force with a technical agreement linking it to NATO. As of 2017, there are nine High Readiness Force Headquarters: Certification of

595-586: A new category of forces was created, principally to improve the flexibility and reach of land forces. The structure incorporated six "NATO Rapid Deployable Corps headquarters". Formed from October 2003, the NATO Rapidly Deployable Corps are designated High Readiness Forces (HRF), designed to be able to react on short notice. Although these forces cannot deploy on five days warning like the NATO Response Force (NRF), they have

680-418: A purely administrative move necessitated by Clark's approaching retirement and the lack of an open four-star slot for the highly respected Ralston [a reality which would have compelled him to either accept a temporary demotion to two-star rank or retire from the service], Clark's relief has been often seen as a slap at the general on the part of a Pentagon leadership that had been very much at odds with him during

765-2073: A single DSACEUR. With a small number of exceptions who were German military officers , DSACEUR is normally a British military officer . The officeholders have been as follows: Single DSACEUR (April 1951 - January 1978) The Viscount Montgomery of Alamein , KG GCB DSO PC DL Sir Richard Gale , GCB KBE DSO MC Sir Hugh Stockwell , GCB KBE DSO* Sir Thomas Pike , GCB CBE DFC* DL Sir Robert Bray , GCB KBE DSO* Sir Desmond Fitzpatrick , GCB GCVO DSO MBE MC Sir John Mogg , GCB CBE DSO* Sir Harry Tuzo , GCB OBE MC DL (As solo DSACEUR) Two DSACEURs (January 1978 until June 1993) Sir Harry Tuzo , GCB OBE MC DL - 2 November 1978 (As Co-DSACEUR) Gerd Schmückle - 1 April 1980 Sir Jack Harman , GCB OBE MC - 9 April 1981 Günter Luther - 1 April 1982 Sir Peter Terry , GCB AFC - 16 July 1984 Günter Kießling Hans-Joachim Mack - 1 October 1987 Sir Edward Burgess , KCB OBE Sir John Akehurst , KCB CBE - 17 January 1990 Eberhard Eimler - 2 October 1990 Sir Brian Kenny , GCB CBE - 5 April 1993 Dieter Clauss - 1 July 1993 Sir John Waters , GCB CBE - 1 July 1993 (As Co-DSACEUR) Single DSACEUR (July 1993 - Present) Sir John Waters , GCB CBE (As solo DSACEUR) Sir Jeremy Mackenzie , GCB OBE DL Sir Rupert Smith , KCB DSO* OBE QGM Dieter Stöckmann Rainer Feist Sir John Reith , KCB CBE Sir John McColl , KCB CBE DSO KStJ Commander-in-chief A commander-in-chief or supreme commander ( supreme commander-in-chief )

850-560: A small number of US and British ballistic missile submarines, and some 7,000 tactical nuclear weapons were deployed in Europe. The drawdown of the British Mediterranean Fleet , the military difficulties of the politically decided command structure, and the withdrawal of the French from the military command structure forced a rearrangement of the command arrangements in the southern region. Allied Forces Mediterranean

935-510: A state of emergency ( Finnish : valmiustila , literally, "state of preparedness") and state of war ( Finnish : puolustustila , lit. "state of defence") are declared by a presidential decree, given after a motion by the government, which is then submitted to the Parliament for ratification. The president has, in a state of emergency, the right to transfer the position of the commander-in-chief to another Finnish citizen. In France ,

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1020-581: A subordinate (usually) to a head of state (see Generalissimo ). The term is also used for officers who hold authority over an individual military branch , special branch or within a theatre of operations . This includes heads of states who: According to the Constitution of Albania , the president of the Republic of Albania is the commander-in-chief of Albanian Armed Forces . Under part II, chapter III, article 99, subsections 12, 13, 14 and 15,

1105-908: Is Commander French Maritime Forces, initially aboard the Charles de Gaulle , but now aboard the amphibious ship Mistral . The French naval component is drawn from the Force d'Action Navale , the French Navy's surface fleet. Island Commander, Iceland , remains in existence as a detachment of HQ ACO, as does Allied Submarine Command, a NATO command based on the United States Navy 's ComSubLant . A special operations coordination centre and an intelligence fusion centre have also recently been formed within SHAPE. As more capable rapid reaction forces were established, earlier 'fire brigades', including

1190-657: Is General Christopher G. Cavoli of the United States Army . Since 2003 the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) has also served as the head of Allied Command Europe and the head of Allied Command Operations. The officeholders have been: The position of Deputy Supreme Allied Command Europe (DSACEUR) has been known as Deputy Head of Allied Command Operations since 2003. From January 1978 until June 1993 there were two DSACEURs, one British and one German. From July 1993 this reverted to

1275-478: Is another Supreme Allied Commander in NATO, Supreme Allied Commander Transformation (SACT), titularly equal, but whose duties are less operational. SACT, in Norfolk, Virginia, has responsibility for capability development rather than operations. SACEUR has always been held by a U.S. military officer , and the position is dual-hatted with that of Commander of United States European Command . The current SACEUR

1360-672: Is the commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization 's (NATO) Allied Command Operations (ACO) and head of ACO's headquarters, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE). The commander is based at SHAPE in Casteau , Belgium . In effect, SACEUR is the second-highest military position within NATO, below only the Chair of the NATO Military Committee in terms of precedence. There

1445-587: Is the person who exercises supreme command and control over an armed force or a military branch . As a technical term, it refers to military competencies that reside in a country's executive leadership, a head of state , head of government , or other designated government official . The formal role and title of a ruler commanding the armed forces derives from Imperator of the Roman Kingdom , Roman Republic and Roman Empire , who possessed imperium (command and other regal) powers. In English use,

1530-743: The Convention , as well as later to the Directoire , before being regained in the hands of Consul Napoléon Bonaparte , later Emperor Napoléon I , alone. The Restoration restored the authority of the King, first in an absolute monarchy, then the constitutional July Monarchy of Louis Philippe , before it was overthrown in turn by the Second Republic and later the Second Empire of Napoleon III . The following Third Republic

1615-582: The ACE Mobile Force (Land) ('AMF (L)'), were disbanded; AMF(L) was disbanded on 30 October 2002. In addition to this Allied Command Operations has at its disposal standing forces such as: Airlift support for SACEUR's travels is provided by the USAF's 309th Airlift Squadron at Chièvres Air Base , Belgium. In 2012 and 2013, NATO underwent a reorganization of the military command, and the land component commands at Heidelberg and Madrid were deactivated,

1700-783: The Armed Forces , the National Police and all other state's security agencies. In Egypt , the president of the Republic holds the ceremonial title of Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. A member of the government, usually defence minister, is commander-in-chief of the Egyptian Armed Forces . The president is the only individual capable of declaring war. With the exception of Mohamed Morsi , who briefly served as president from 2012 to 2013, all Egyptian presidents have been former military officers. During

1785-873: The Australian Defence Organisation . Section 8 of the Defence Act 1903 states: The Minister shall have the general control and administration of the Defence Force, and the powers vested in the Chief of the Defence Force , the Chief of Navy , the Chief of Army and the Chief of Air Force by virtue of section 9, and the powers vested jointly in the Secretary and the Chief of the Defence Force by virtue of section 9A, shall be exercised subject to and in accordance with any directions of

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1870-522: The Constitution of Argentina states that the president of the Argentine Nation is the "Commander-in-chief of all the armed forces of the Nation ". It also states that the president is entitled to provide military posts in the granting of the jobs or grades of senior officers of the armed forces, and by itself on the battlefield; runs with its organization and distribution according to needs of

1955-686: The European mainland , and two other major military exercises in September 1957. Operation Strikeback was a series of multilateral naval exercises that concentrated on NATO's eastern Atlantic/northern European flank. Operation Deep Water involved NATO carrier and amphibious assault forces operating along NATO's southern flank in the Mediterranean Sea. To improve alliance military readiness and integration, NATO continued to hold annual alliance-wide military exercises each autumn ( FALLEX ) that

2040-536: The Kosovo war the previous spring. From the early 2000s ACO as it became had more and more activities related to the NATO Response Force . Yet after Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania joined the alliance, and especially after the 2008 Georgia-Russia war , more attention began to be paid to NATO's core Article 5 defence obligations. The three Baltic states' worries were specifically focused on a potential Russian threat. Thus while some exercises were ostentially run to prepare

2125-522: The Minister of Defence and is responsible for advising the Minister, for the implementation of defence policy and for the administration of the department. According to the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina , the collective Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina . In peace, the commander-in-chief exercises his command through

2210-509: The Ministry of Defence , headed by the minister of defence, which provides the policy framework and resources to the Armed Forces to discharge their responsibilities in the context of the defence of the country. The first commander-in-chief, General M. A. G. Osmani , during Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, who was commander of Muktibahini/ Bangladesh Forces , reinstated to active duty by official BD government order, which after independence

2295-628: The Parliament must give consent to the dispatch of Czech military forces outside the territory of the Czech Republic. The Ministry of Defence is the central authority of the state administration for the control of the Armed Forces. The actual day-to-day management is vested in the chief of the general staff, the Czech chief of defence equivalent. The position of the Danish monarch as

2380-623: The Rhine River in the British Zone under the overall command of Lt. General Sir Richard Nelson Gale , British Army . Finally, Rosebud involved ground maneuvers by the U.S. Seventh Army in the American Zone of Occupation of Allied-occupied Germany . The initial plans saw the defence of Western Europe from a Soviet invasion resting heavily on nuclear weapons (' Massive retaliation '), with conventional forces merely acting as

2465-647: The Royal Brunei Armed Forces . The powers of command-in-chief over the Canadian Armed Forces are vested in the Canadian monarch , and are delegated to the governor general of Canada , who also uses the title Commander-in-Chief . In this capacity, the governor general is entitled to the uniform of a general/flag officer, with the crest of the office and special cuff braid serving as rank insignia. By constitutional convention,

2550-825: The Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force . The president of Ethiopia is the Supreme Commander of the Ethiopian Armed Forces which is the ceremonial role that is limited to granting high military titles and awards. The prime minister of Ethiopia is the commander-in-chief of the Ethiopian National Defense Force . According to the Finnish constitution , the president of Finland is the commander-in-chief of all Finnish military forces . In practice,

2635-469: The Yom Kippur War , the president played a major role at all levels of the planning of the war, and was, in a literal sense, Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, giving direct orders to the commanders from the headquarters during the war as field marshal of the army , marshal of the air force and air defence forces and admiral of the navy . The king of Eswatini is the commander in chief of

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2720-572: The countersignature of the prime minister for decisions concerning the above-mentioned provisions as per Articles 63(3–4), or otherwise, they are not valid. The prime minister may delegate to other ministers the right to countersign these decisions of the president. The political responsibility for the Armed Forces is borne by the Government , which in Article 67 is defined as the "supreme body of executive power". According to Articles 39 & 43,

2805-417: The head of state , the president of the Republic , in accordance to Article 53 of the Constitution of India . The president exercises supreme command with accordance to the law. As commander in chief, the president has the power to declare war however they must subject to the approval of the Parliament of India . The commander in chief also appoints the chiefs of each branch of the armed forces as well as

2890-555: The minister of defence . In war and in cases where the minister of defence is not fulfilling orders, the commander-in-chief exercises his command directly through the Chief of Joint Staff . Article 142 of the Brazilian Constitution of 1988 states that the Brazilian Armed Forces is under the supreme command of the president of the Republic . The sultan of Brunei is the commander-in-chief of

2975-674: The president of Ghana is the commander-in-chief of the Ghana Armed Forces . He holds the rank of Field Marshal . According to the Guyanese constitution, the president is commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces. There is a rank insignia for the position. The supreme commander of the Indian Armed Forces is the principal commanding authority of the Indian Armed Forces , a position that is vested in

3060-635: The president of the Republic is designated as " Chef des Armées " (literally "Chief of the Armies") under article 15 of the Constitution ; the officeholder is as such the supreme executive authority in military affairs. Article 16 provides the president with extensive emergency powers . However, owing to the nature of the semi-presidential system , the prime minister also has key constitutional powers under article 21: "He shall be responsible for national defence" and has "power to make regulations and shall make appointments to civil and military posts". Since

3145-609: The ACE area during the autumn 1952. Blue Alliance was a major allied air force exercise for the Allied Air Forces Central Europe (AAFCE) to achieve air supremacy over the Central European front and provide close air support to NORTHAG ground forces under the overall command of Lt. General Lauris Norstad , USAF . Two 1952 central region exercises involved air-ground combined forces. Equinox

3230-594: The Alliance, ACE's three-command system was reduced to two commands covering the same area after 1996, one for north of the Alps and one for south of the Alps. The United States had wished to retain three commands, arguing that 'the span of control might be excessive.' It was feared by Pentagon officials at the time that if the two-command structure was adopted, some functions at the MSC level would have had to be moved 'downward' in

3315-689: The American and British garrisons in Austria, Trieste , and Berlin. Four days after Eisenhower's arrival in Paris, on 5 January 1951, the Italian defence minister, Randolfo Pacciardi , announced that three Italian divisions were to be formed as Italy's 'initial contribution to the Atlantic army', and that these divisions would also come under Eisenhower's control. On April 2, 1951, General Eisenhower signed

3400-536: The Canadian Armed Forces. According to the Croatian constitution , the president of Croatia is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia . There was originally a rank insignia and name for the position, known as "Vrhovnik". This was held by former President Franjo Tudjman and was abolished after his death. In peace, the commander-in-chief exercises his command through

3485-477: The Center—the United States, United Kingdom and France—as they had strongly differing views on the proper relationship of air and ground power. Drawing upon his World War II experience, General Eisenhower decided to retain overall control himself and did not appoint a C-in-C for the Central Region. Instead there would be three separate C-in-C's (air, land, and sea). In December 1950 it was announced that

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3570-617: The Crown's prerogative powers over the armed forces and constitutional powers as commander-in-chief are exercised on the advice of the prime minister and the rest of Cabinet , the governing ministry that commands the confidence of the House of Commons . According to the National Defence Act , the Minister of National Defence is responsible and accountable to the Parliament of Canada for all matters related to national defence and

3655-555: The Minister. According to the Constitution of Barbados , the president of Barbados is the commander-in-chief of Barbados Defense Force . Between 1966 and 2021, prior to the transition to a republican system, the monarch of Barbados , Queen Elizabeth II , was head of the Defense Force, with the Governor-General of Barbados as her viceroy. The president adopted these powers. First President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

3740-424: The NATO ACE exercises at the same time of year. A creature of habit, Haig took the same route to SHAPE every day – a pattern of behavior that did not go unnoticed by terrorist groups. On June 25, 1979, Haig was the apparent target of an assassination attempt in Mons, Belgium . A land mine blew up under the bridge on which Haig's car was traveling, narrowly missing Haig's car, but wounding three of his bodyguards in

3825-418: The NRF, sometimes they also included Article 5 aspects. Among these dual-purpose exercises was 'Steadfast Jazz', part of the NATO Exercise Steadfast series , which was run in November 2013 across a number of NATO countries, including Poland and the Baltic states. This is a gallery of the badges of the Allied Command Europe (ACE), led by Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), in 1989. Since 2003 it has been

3910-442: The Nation and declares war and orders reprisals with the consent and approval of the Argentine National Congress . The Ministry of Defense is the government department that assists and serves the president in the management of the armed forces ( Army , Navy and Air Force ). Under chapter II of section 68 titled Command of the naval and military forces , the Constitution of Australia states that: The command in chief of

3995-545: The SHAPE headquarters in Mons following the return, after almost forty years, of French military officers to the HQ. Fifteen French military officers, including General Jean-Jacques Bart, work there, of a total number of 1,100 personnel. They are however considered as "inserted," and not as "integrated," as they cannot be ordered to move without previous French approval. A new structure was developed with three main headquarters under Allied Command Operations: NATO Rapid Deployable Corps headquarters (NRDC) Between 2003 and 2006,

4080-551: The Schaefer Plan, drafted by retired German general Shaefer. Shaefer's aim was to begin the first effort to streamline NATO's Cold War structure to meet the new circumstances. Personnel in the headquarters fell from 18,354 in 1990 to 12,919 in 1996. Costs fell from US$ 621m to $ 482m over the same period. From 1994-c.1999, there were three Major Subordinate Commands in ACE: Allied Forces Northwestern Europe at RAF High Wycombe , Allied Forces Central Europe at Brunssum , The Netherlands, and AFSOUTH in Naples. After much discussion within

4165-407: The United States stood firm and today an American admiral remains in charge of the Naples command. In addition to the two continental commands AFNORTHWEST covered the United Kingdom and Scandinavia. An early retirement again disrupted the Mons headquarters in 2000 as General Wesley Clark was shunted aside in favor of Air Force general Joseph Ralston . Although the move was publicly characterized as

4250-624: The activation order for Allied Command Europe and its headquarters at SHAPE. Headquarters, Allied Forces Central Europe (AFCENT) was activated in Fontainebleau , France in 1953. On the same day, ACE's subordinate headquarters in Northern and Central Europe were activated, with the Southern Region following in June. By 1954 ACE's forces consisted of Allied Forces Northern Europe , at Oslo , Allied Forces Central Europe ( Fontainebleau ), Allied Forces Southern Europe ( Paris / Naples ) and Allied Forces Mediterranean at Malta . The commanders and commands in 1957 were: Four exercises were conducted in

4335-455: The armed forces and therefore does not control the military in any operational sense. Governors-general and colonial governors are also often appointed commander-in-chief of the military forces within their territory. A commander in chief is sometimes referred to as supreme commander , which is sometimes used as a specific term. The term is also used for military officers who hold such power and authority, not always through dictatorship, and as

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4420-496: The city, at Camp Voluceau next to Versailles . France's resentment over NATO's military structure had been brewing for a number of years, as successive French governments had become increasingly incensed with Anglo - American domination of the command structure and insufficient French influence. In February 1966 President Charles de Gaulle stated that the changed world order had "stripped NATO of its justification" for military integration, and soon afterward, France stated that it

4505-480: The consent of the Folketing . Any measure which the King may take in pursuance of this provision shall forthwith be submitted to the Folketing". However, when reading the Danish Constitution, it is important to bear in mind that the k ing in this context is understood by Danish jurists to be read as the government (consisting of the prime minister and other ministers). This is a logical consequence of articles 12, 13 and 14, all of which in essence stipulates that

4590-424: The everyday command and control is in the hands of the chief of defence and the commander of the Finnish Border Guard . The economic administration of the Finnish Defence Force is the responsibility of Ministry of Defence . The duty of the president is to decide upon Since the constitutional reform of 2000, the minister of defence has the right to be present when the president uses his command powers, unless

4675-414: The following High Readiness Forces (Maritime) Headquarters took place in 2004: Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO (STRIKFORNATO), homeported at Gaeta, Italy, whose lead nation is the United States, is commanded by Commander United States Sixth Fleet , and is also part of the NATO Force Structure. STRIKFORNATO is the only command capable of leading an expanded maritime task force. The final formation

4760-418: The forces initially to come under General Eisenhower's command were to be the U.S. Seventh Army in Germany, the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR), with the 2nd Infantry and 7th Armoured Divisions , to be bolstered by the 11th Armoured Division and a further infantry division, three French divisions in Germany and Austria, the Danish, Belgian, and the Independent Norwegian Brigades in Western Germany, and

4845-418: The head of the military is deeply rooted in tradition. While the 1953 constitution does not explicitly designate the monarch as commander-in-chief; it is implicit, given the general provision in article 12 and the more specific wording of article 19 (2): "Except for purposes of defence against an armed attack upon the Realm or Danish forces, the King shall not use military force against any foreign state without

4930-411: The headquarters of Allied Command Operations, controlling all NATO operations worldwide. SHAPE retained its traditional name with reference to Europe for legal reasons although the geographical scope of its activities was extended in 2003. At that time, NATO's command in Lisbon , historically part of Allied Command Atlantic , was reassigned to ACO. [REDACTED] In 2003, a French flag was set up in

5015-503: The land battle in the central region was described for publicity purposes in January 1954 by then-Supreme Allied Commander Europe General Alfred Gruenther as: We have... an air-ground shield which, although still not strong enough, would force an enemy to concentrate before attack. In doing so, the concentrating force would be extremely vulnerable to losses from atomic weapon attacks... We can now use atomic weapons against an aggressor, delivered not only by long-range aircraft, but also by

5100-436: The maritime component command at Naples was closed and the air component command at Izmir also shut down. Since 1951, the Supreme Allied Commander Europe has served as the head of the topmost-level NATO command for Europe, now titled Allied Command Operations, and located at Casteau. The Deputy Commander is always a European officer. Supreme Allied Commander Europe The Supreme Allied Commander Europe ( SACEUR )

5185-404: The matter is of immediate concern. In questions of strategic importance, the prime minister has the same right. The president commissions and promotes officers and decides on activating reservists for extraordinary service and on the mobilisation of the Defence Forces. If Parliament is not in session when a decision to mobilise is taken, it must be immediately convened. Declarations of

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5270-423: The military. The role of commander in chief is laid out in Article 28 of the Constitution of Belarus , which states that he/she has the authority to "appoint and dismiss the high command of the Armed Forces". Article 167 of the Constitution of Belgium designates the king as the commander-in-chief. In practice, the Chief of Defence is the head and commander of the Belgian Armed Forces . He reports directly to

5355-415: The minister is the chief of defence , the senior-ranking professional military officer heading the Defence Command , who commands the Army , the Navy , the Air Force and other units not reporting directly to the Ministry of Defence . According to the Constitution , Article 128, Section II, Title IV, the president is the head of foreign policy, the civil administration and the commander-in-chief of

5440-430: The minister of defence. In war and in cases where the minister of defence is not fulfilling orders, the commander-in-chief exercises his command directly through the chief of General Staff . According to the 1992 constitution , the president of the Czech Republic is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces according to Article 63(1)(c), and appoints and promotes generals under Article 63(1)(f). The president needs

5525-601: The more notable being General Alexander Haig . Haig, who had retired from military service in order to serve as White House Chief of Staff for President Richard Nixon during the depths of the Watergate crisis, was abruptly installed as SACEUR after Watergate's denouement. Haig arrived in 1974. Some scattered notes about his time at SHAPE are recorded by Colodny and Shachtman's book The Forty Years War . In addition, then-Lieutenant Colonel John Galvin (later to become SACEUR himself) served as speechwriter for both Goodpaster, Haig's predecessor, and Haig. Galvin wrote that 'Goodpaster

5610-459: The naval and military forces of the Commonwealth is vested in the Governor-General as the Queen's representative. In practice, however, the Governor-General does not play an active part in the Australian Defence Force 's command structure, and the democratically accountable Australian Cabinet (chaired by the Prime Minister ) de facto controls the ADF. The Minister for Defence and several subordinate ministers exercise this control through

5695-422: The new structure. But while the United States eventually had to give in on a reduction to two commands, it was successful in that a European officer was not placed in charge of the new southern command (now Allied Joint Force Command Naples ), a move which France and Germany supported. Despite French President Jacques Chirac exchanging letters with Bill Clinton personally over the issue in September–October 1997,

5780-420: The powers vested in the monarch can only be exercised through ministers, who are responsible for all acts. Thus, the Government, in effect, holds the supreme command authority implied in articles 12 and 19(2). The Danish Defence Law ( Danish : Forsvarsloven ) designates in article 9 the minister of defence as the supreme authority in Defence ( Danish : højeste ansvarlige myndighed for forsvaret ). Under

5865-436: The proper conduct of the campaign on the Western Front . On December 19, 1950, the North Atlantic Council announced the appointment of General Eisenhower as the first SACEUR. British Field Marshal Sir Bernard L. Montgomery moved over from the predecessor Western Union Defence Organization (WUDO) to become the first Deputy SACEUR, who would serve until 1958. Volume 3 of Nigel Hamilton's Life of Montgomery of Alamein gives

5950-427: The reign of Louis XIV , France has been strongly centralised. After crushing local nobles engaged in warlord-ism, the kings of France retained all authority with the help of able yet discreet Prime ministers ( Mazarin , Richelieu ). The French Revolution transferred the supreme authority to the King (in the context of the short-lived constitutional monarchy), then to the multi-member Comité de Salut Public during

6035-412: The supreme authority in Vichy France , while Général Charles de Gaulle , acting on behalf of the previous regime, founded the Free French Forces , upon which he held supreme authority all through the war. The following and short-lived Fourth Republic was a parliamentary system, which was replaced by the present Fifth Republic , a semi-presidential system . According to the Constitution of Ghana ,

6120-477: The term was first used during the English Civil War . A nation's head of state (monarchical or republican) usually holds the position of commander-in-chief, even if effective executive power is held by a separate head of government . In a parliamentary system , the executive branch is ultimately dependent upon the will of the legislature ; although the legislature does not issue orders directly to

6205-487: The use of shorter-range planes, and by 280 mm. artillery... This air-ground team constitutes a very effective shield, and it would fight very well in case of attack. In 1957, SACEUR General Lauris Norstad , USAF , noting the numerical superiority of Soviet and Warsaw Pact forces over NATO ground forces, called for "about 30" divisions to augment NATO's central European front. That year Allied Command Europe carried out Operation Counter Punch, which involved AFCENT forces on

6290-484: Was ... internationally minded, avuncular, philosophical, gentlemanly, thoughtful, warm, and measured in his ways. Haig was combative and suspicious, and conspiratorial in outlook.' While at SACEUR Haig felt that the large Warsaw Pact exercises were intimidating to observers, and, despite HQ staff disapproval, created the Exercise Autumn Forge exercise series, increasing the size of the event by holding all

6375-487: Was a major air-ground exercise involving French-American tactical air units and a French airborne infantry unit under the command of Général d'Armée Alphonse Juin , French Army . Holdfast was a major allied air-ground exercise involving 150,000 British Army of the Rhine , Dutch, Belgian, and Canadian troops of NATO's Northern Army Group in coordination with the Allied Air Forces Central Europe . They maneuvered east of

6460-543: Was a parliamentary system, where the military authority was held by the president of the Council of Ministers , head of government, although the president, head of state, retained ceremonial powers. During World War I , the many visits to the trenches by the elder statesman Georges Clemenceau impressed the soldiers and earned him the nickname Father of Victory ( French : Le Père de la Victoire ). During World War II , Maréchal Philippe Pétain assumed power and held

6545-510: Was chosen as a new host nation for both NATO's political headquarters and SHAPE. General Lyman Lemnitzer , SACEUR at the time, had hoped that SHAPE could be located near to NATO Headquarters, as had been the case in Paris, but the Belgian authorities decided that SHAPE should be located at least 50 kilometres from Brussels , NATO's new location, because SHAPE was a major wartime military target. The Belgian government offered Camp Casteau,

6630-640: Was disbanded on 5 June 1967, and all forces in the south and the Mediterranean assigned to AFSOUTH in Naples. This left SHAPE and Allied Command Europe with three commands: AFNORTH covering Norway and Denmark, AFCENT most of Germany, and AFSOUTH Italy, Turkey, Greece, and the rest of the southern region. The headquarters' new home in Mons, Belgium, was the center of international attention from time to time as new Supreme Allied Commanders came and went, with one of

6715-560: Was extended, SHAPE retained its traditional name with reference to Europe . General Eisenhower arrived in Paris on January 1, 1951, and quickly set to work with a small group of planners to devise a structure for the new European command. The Planning Group worked in the Hotel Astoria in central Paris while construction of a permanent facility began. On 2 April 1951 SHAPE moved to its permanent facility at Rocquencourt , just west of

6800-589: Was gazetted in 1972. He retired on 7 April 1972 and relinquished all authority and duties to the president of Bangladesh. The president of Belarus is the Commander-in-Chief of the Belarusian Armed Forces ( Belarusian : Галоўнакамандуючы Узброенымі Сіламі Рэспублікі Беларусь ). The Belarusian commander in chief has an official uniform befitting of the rank, which the president wears on official occasion and ceremonies in relation to

6885-402: Was jointly planned and executed by SACEUR and SACLANT forces. From 1967 however, under ' flexible response ', the aim became to build up conventional forces so that, if possible, nuclear weapons might not be needed. However it was made clear that first use of nuclear weapons might be necessary if the conventional defences were being overwhelmed. Eventually SACEUR was allocated planning control of

6970-479: Was replaced by General John R. Galvin after Galvin was being advised he was being picked by Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger in February–March 1987. ACE in 1986 had three major subordinate commands (MSCs), one each for Northern, Central, and Southern Europe, as well as smaller commands. From 1993, the staffing of ACE was reduced in line with personnel reductions already in progress since 1990 and

7055-415: Was the Supreme Commander of all the Armed Forces of the Republic. In absence of him, then Vice President Syed Nazrul Islam was acting President and acting Supreme Commander of all the Armed Forces of the Republic. The commander-in-chief of Bangladesh Armed Forces is the president , although executive power and responsibility for national defense resides with the prime minister . This is discharged through

7140-723: Was the headquarters of Allied Command Europe ( ACE ). An integrated military structure for NATO was first established after the Korean War raised questions over the strength of Europe's defences against a Soviet attack. The first choice for commander in Europe was American General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower , as he had successfully directed the Allied landings in Normandy and subsequent march into Germany during World War II , amid many inter-Allied controversies over

7225-414: Was withdrawing from the NATO military structure. SHAPE and all the other NATO installations, including NATO Headquarters and Allied Forces Central Europe (AFCENT), were informed that they must leave French territory by April 1967. France's withdrawal from NATO's integrated military structure forced SHAPE and several other ACE headquarters to leave French territory. With France no longer available, Belgium

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