NATO Logistics Handbook October 1997

Chapter 3: Logistic Support of the Alliance's New Strategy New Reinforcement Concept 318. The NATO Concept of Reinforcement sets out to reflect and amplify the Alliance Strategic Concept and to define the role of reinforcement in contributing to conflict prevention, crisis management and defence. It thus provides the necessary politico-military guidance for reinforcement planning. It also reflects the changed security environment, which, inter alia, established the requirement for flexibility and mobility in the development of the Alliance's new force posture and the need to optimize the use of available resources. The ability to build up forces at the right time and place has become of increasing importance. 319. Reinforcement, as it has been applied in the Concept, is the process of relocating forces to any area at risk within the Alliance in order to strengthen military capabilities as a means of conflict prevention, crisis management or defence. It is specifically designed to contribute a multinational forward presence, supplementing in-place forces and demonstrating Alliance resolve, and, as a complement to mobilization and reconstitution, it is a means of achieving the required force levels. Thus, reinforcement as a contribution to the build-up of forces becomes one of the primary military instruments available to the political leadership. There are a number of fundamental logistics implications in the Concept of Reinforcement. 320. The NATO Military Authorities (NMAs) must maintain a broad list of Military Response Options from which to select those required for various levels of crisis management. A generic plan must be developed to conduct possible operations where some of the planning factors have not been identified or cannot be assumed. A Contingency Operations Plan (COP) will be developed to face specific crisis situations.