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http://stripesonline.com/article.asp?section=104&article=7824 Stars And Stripes Monday, April 15, 2002 NATO selects sites in five nations for rapid-deployment commands By Terry Boyd, Stars and Stripes European edition, Monday, April 15, 2002 IZMIR, Turkey � NATO officials have selected sites in five nations for six new commands, capable of rapidly sending forces � as many as 250,000 troops � to trouble spots outside Western Europe. Five High-Readiness Force Headquarters should be up and running by this summer, but part of the selection and certification process might take until 2004. The commands join a high-readiness headquarters in Rheindahlen, Germany, attached to Allied Command Europe Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC), said Ian Kemp, a London-based NATO specialist for Jane�s Weekly, which tracks the world�s militaries. The headquarters that will be attached to EuroCorps include: Strasbourg, France; the Germany/Netherlands Corps in Munster, Germany; III Corps of the Turkish Army, Istanbul; and new headquarters in Valencia, Spain, and Milan, Italy. Two Lower-Readiness Headquarters are planned for Warsaw, Poland, and at Thessaloniki, Greece, said German Lt. Col. Harmut Beilmann, a spokesman at SHAPE headquarters in Brussels. Since 1991, NATO officials have tried to create a more flexible command structure to deal with regional conflicts, moving away from the Cold War scenarios of defending Europe against Soviet and Warsaw Bloc forces toward conflicts like the Balkans and the war on terrorism. Just what sort of forces and capabilities each headquarters will have depends on the host nation and contributing countries. For example, the majority of ARRC forces are contributed by the United Kingdom, and range from tank-heavy armored divisions to airborne units specializing in mountain operations. Each high-readiness headquarters must be able to deploy its first elements within two weeks and its entire force within two to three months, according to NATO documents. The new strategy focuses on a combination of reaction forces, main-defense forces and augmentation forces that will relieve the high-readiness forces should wars or peacekeeping missions run longer than two six-month rotations. A spokesman for the Turkish General Staff in Ankara, Turkey, said he doesn�t expect the Turkish government to commit to the force until after a final SHAPE evaluation in December. The concept requires a multi-national command, and the 10 allied nations represented at Joint Command Southeast are planning to provide assets to the approximately 500-person headquarters staff, according to NATO sources. "This implies that some staff members in our headquarters may be moved to the High-Readiness Headquarters this summer," Ataman said. "As the world changes, so does NATO." Between 20 and 30 American slots at the command will transfer there from Izmir. It will be up to member nations and the host nations to provide manning for the new headquarters, Beilmann said. The other five candidates will have to prove they can perform at ARRC�s level, capable of everything from peacekeeping to war fighting, Kemp said. SHAPE officials will judge the new headquarters on about 400 criteria, Kemp said. The Germany/Netherlands Corps passed its initial evaluation, with a final inspection in November, Kemp said. EuroCorp�s initial evaluation is scheduled for April 26, with the final in November. Istanbul�s initial evaluation is scheduled for May, with its final inspection Oct. 10. Initial inspections of Italy and Spain are scheduled for June, with the final evaluations in December. Still, there might be obstacles to carrying out the plans because of financial burdens on host countries, as well as international politics. Even ARRC, which has been standing for eight years and deployed to Kosovo and Bosnia, "had to invest considerably more money in [satellite communications] and infrastructure to become a HHQ headquarters," Kemp said. Turkey � NATO�s second-largest force after the United States in terms of troops � is concerned that EuroCorps will use NATO assets while excluding it and NATO member Norway, which are not EU members. Last year, Turkish officials said that, if EuroCorps is selected for one of the high-readiness headquarters, it must be open to non-EU NATO members, with input in the EU�s security and defense-policy planning process. Each site�s evaluations will go to the Supreme Allied Commander, Europe � currently U.S. Air Force Gen. Joseph Ralston. The SACEUR will send his recommendation to NATO�s Military Committee, with the final candidates going before the North Atlantic Council, NATO�s political body, for a final selection vote. NATO officials don�t expect a final selection vote before next year, or even 2004, Beilmann said. However, for SHAPE to begin the evaluation process, the commands must be up and function at full capability, Kemp said. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Tax Center - online filing with TurboTax http://taxes.yahoo.com/ --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9617B Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
