Military Committee & International Military Staff (IMS)

International Military Staff (IMS)

The International Military Staff (IMS) is the executive body of the Military Committee, NATO’s senior military authority.

General Bartels awarded the Hellenic Commendation Medal Star of Merit and Honour

19 Apr. 2013

Athens – On 19 April 2013, General Knud Bartels was awarded the “Commendation Medal Star of Merit and Honour” by the Greek Minister of National Defence, in recognition of his services to the Hellenic Republic and in particular to the Hellenic Armed Forces, in his role of Chairman of NATO’s Military Committee.

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NATO General participates in Jakarta International Defence Dialogue 2013

20 Mar. 2013 - 21 Mar. 2013

From 20 to 21 March, senior political and military leaders from the entire Asia-Pacific region and beyond gathered in Jakarta. The Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono welcomed more than 1,300 delegates from 42 nations for the 3rd Jakarta International Defence Dialogue (JIDD). The Director General of the International Military Staff, Lieutenant General Jürgen Bornemann, represented NATO at the defence dialogue.

Spain and NATO look to the future

15 Mar. 2013

Madrid - General Knud Bartels, Chairman of NATO's Military Committee, paid an official visit to Spain, where he discussed with the Spanish Chief of Defence, Admiral Fernando García Sánchez, NATO defence priorities post-2014, particularly Smart Defence, and the Connected Forces Initiative.

Chairman Military Committee confirms NATO-Portugal close relationship
28 Feb. 2013 - 01 Mar. 2013
NATO-Russia military-to-military direct line
15 Feb. 2013
NATO Generals gain firsthand knowledge of progress
14 Feb. 2013
Director General IMS awarded the 2012 NATO Meritorious Service Medal
28 Jan. 2013
NATO Chiefs of Defence bring transformation to the forefront
16 Jan. 2013 - 17 Jan. 2013

Report by the Chairman

The Military Committee - Report on the engagement of the Military Committee and the International Military Staff in NATO's operations, capabilities and cooperation, and on future challenges and trends.

NATO's military Public Affairs policy

The Military Committee has agreed a new progressive Public Affairs policy, designed to assist military Public Affairs staff support Commanders in their efforts to explain NATO’s military aims and objectives. This policy draws on experiences and lessons learned from all of NATO's operations and missions.

NATO Medals currently in use

In July 1992 for the first time in history of the North Atlantic Alliance, NATO Forces were engaged in operations...

NATO's Military Committee

This brochure describes the work of the Military Committee, the role of the Chairman, the work of the International Military Staff, and how military decisions are arrived at in NATO.

NATO’s Military Committee - focused on operations, capabilities, cooperation, and transformation (.PDF/599Kb)

Cooperative Security as NATO’s Core Task

The new Strategic Concept gives a new flavour to the role of the Alliance, introducing Cooperative Security (CS) as a new core task in addition to the existing collective defence and crisis management.

Building security through military cooperation

Military matters: The beginnings of NATO’s military structure: birth of the Alliance to the fall of the Berlin Wall

More than five decades since its founding, it is hard to imagine that NATO did not always have the complex military and political structures that have long been key features of its decision-making process.