Deputy Chairman of the NATO Military Committee visits the United Kingdom
From 14 to 19 March 2018, Deputy Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, Lieutenant General Steven Shepro visited the United Kingdom where he met with Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach, British Chief of Defence, and key senior civilian and military staff at the Ministry of Defence. Lieutenant General Shepro also spoke at the Annual Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), and Command and Control (C2) Battle Management Conference. The Deputy Chairman concluded his trip with visits to the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC) HQ and the NATO Maritime Command in Norfolk.
Lieutenant Steven Shepro, Deputy Chairman of the NATO Military Committee kicked off his trip to the United Kingdom with a visit to Whitehall, the British Ministry of Defence. He met with Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach*, Chief of Defence the United Kingdom’s role within the Alliance and European security. Lieutenant General Shepro thanked the United Kingdom for “all its contributions to common goals and to NATO missions, operations and activities. The UK matters to NATO and NATO matters to the UK”.
Echoing the recent Statement of the North Atlantic Council, Lieutenant General Shepro expressed his concern at the attack in Salisbury, “this is the first offensive use of a nerve agent on Alliance territory since NATO’s foundation and NATO regards any use of chemical weapons as a threat to international peace and security. NATO and Allies have expressed their solidarity to the UK and are standing by to provide any required assistance”.
On 15 March, Lieutenant Shepro attended and spoke at the Annual Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), and Command and Control (C2) Battle Management Conference. During his address, the Deputy Chairman stressed that “ISR is strategically important for NATO and a pillar of effective defence which is why NATO has made significant “Common Funded” investments to modernise its ISR capabilities to deter and to respond to a crisis more rapidly and at the speed of relevance”.
While visiting the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC) HQ, Lieutenant General Shepro met with Lieutenant General Radford, Commander of the ARRC. “For the last 26 years, the ARRC has provided NATO with a well-manned, rapidly deployable and flexible HQ. This allows for increased speed which translates into more effective, credible and survivable deterrence and crisis response”, highlighted Lieutenant General Shepro.
At the NATO Maritime Command, Lieutenant Shepro received an update on NATO Maritime activities as well as a briefing from the NATO Intelligence Fusion Centre. Lieutenant General Shepro emphasized that “NATO is currently reviewing its Command Structure and discussing how to reinforce its Maritime Posture because maritime command and control will be even more critical for our future deterrence and defence”.
* Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach, Chief of Defence was elected new Chairman of the NATO Military Committee and is due to take over from General Petr Pavel, current Chairman, on 29 June 2018.