News

The Allied Chiefs of Defence have elected Lieutenant General Hans-W. Wiermann of the German Armed Forces to be the next Director of the NATO International Military Staff (DGIMS). The DGIMS is nominated by the NATO Chiefs of Defence to head the Alliance’s International Military Staff for a term of three years. Lieutenant General Wiermann will take up the position in the summer of 2019 when Lieutenant General Jan Broeks’ tenure ends.

The NATO Military Committee met on 28-30 September 2018 in Warsaw, Poland in Chiefs of Defence format. Discussions focused on Allied operations, missions and activities, the development of NATO’s Military Strategy, Responsiveness, Reinforcement and the NATO Readiness Initiative, as well as the Alliance’s ongoing modernization.

From 23 to 24 August 2018, Deputy Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, Lieutenant General Steven Shepro was in Italy where he visited the NATO Joint Forces Command in Naples, the NATO Strategic Direction South Hub and the NATO Alliance Ground Surveillance Force in at the Sigonella Air Base.

The twenty-nine Allied Chiefs of Defence met in the new NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium today (16 May 2018) to review and discuss key military deliverables ahead of the forthcoming Defence Ministerial in June and the Heads of State and Government Summit in July. Discussions focused on NATO’s Strategic Direction South, Deterrence and Defence, and Allied Modernisation.

On 1 & 2 March 2018, the NATO International Military Staff hosted the first official Military Committee Working Group (MCWG) on Strategic Communications (StratCom). The 29 Allied Nations were invited to attend and share their perspectives on StratCom. They received briefings from senior military and civilian experts from the NATO International Military Staff, the NATO Public Diplomacy Division, SHAPE and ACT as well from the Director of the StratCom Centre of Excellence and several Allied Nations. The Director General of the NATO International Military Staff (DGIMS), Lieutenant General Jan Broeks officially opened the meeting on 1st March.

From 26 to 28 February 2018, at the invitation of General Denis Mercier, Supreme Allied Commander Transformation (SACT), the Military Committee travelled to Allied Command Transformation’s (ACT) subcommand, the Joint Analysis and Lessons Learned Centre (JALLC) in Monsanto, Portugal. The Military Committee also took the opportunity to visit the Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO (STRIKFORNATO) Headquarters. Furthermore, General Petr Pavel, Chairman of the Military Committee and General Mercier met with the Minister of Defence, H. E. Mr. Jose Alberto de Azeredo Lopes and the Portuguese Chief of Defence, General Artur Pina Monteiro.

On the 16th and 17th January, the Allied Chiefs of Defence gathered for their first meeting of 2018 in the 178th Military Committee in Chiefs of Defence Session (MCCS) at NATO Headquarters in Brussels. During the first day, the CHoDs focused on the Alliance’s political and military priorities ahead of the July Summit, military contribution to security and stabilization in Europe’s southern neighborhood, the NATO Command Structure (NCS) adaptation, the Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan and the Global Coalition against ISIS and NATO’s role in Iraq. The second day saw sessions with Ukraine and Georgia, followed by a meeting focused on Military Coherence.

General Petr Pavel, Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, and the Military Committee visited Bosnia and Herzegovina on 14 November 2017. The NATO delegation met with the Minister of Defence, Marina Pendeš, and the Chief of the Joint Staff of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Lieutenant General Anto Jeleč.

General Petr Pavel, Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, opened the Military Committee Conference by thanking Albania for its hospitality and for all the hard work that had gone into the hosting and organising of the event. General Pavel also expressed his gratitude for ''Albania's contributions to NATO's shared security and the valuable role Albania plays in promoting cooperation and stability in the Western Balkans''.

The Allied Chiefs of Defence have elected Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach, Chief of Defence Staff of the United Kingdom's Armed Forces as their next Chairman of the NATO Military Committee.