News

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.

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.

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''.

Lieutenant General Steven M. Shepro, Deputy Chairman of the NATO Military Committee (DCMC) visited Finland on 28-29 August 2017. During his visit, Lieutenant General Steven M. Shepro attended the 4th Helsinki Summer Session and visited the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats.

For the second time since 2014, the NATO Military Committee visited Georgia. During the two-day trip (2 & 3 March), NATO’s Military Representatives met with the Substantial NATO-Georgia Package (SNGP) team to receive a progress report, visited the Joint NATO-Georgia Training and Evaluation Centre (JTEC) and observed a pre-deployment training demonstration of Georgian troops. The Military Committee and its Chairman, General Petr Pavel, also visited the Administrative Boundary Line (ABL).

On 17 and 18 January 2017, the NATO Chiefs of Defence gathered for the 176th Military Committee in Chiefs of Defence Session (MCCS) at NATO Headquarters in Brussels. The meetings included discussions on improving NATO’s Command Structure, continuing defence & deterrence measures, projecting stability through Counter Terrorism projects and the continued support of the Resolute Support Mission. NATO Chiefs of Defence also met with Partner Nations to share views on regional security and enhanced cooperation. The MCCS concluded with a session dedicated to Russia and its relationship towards NATO.