Chairman of the NATO Military Committee

In accordance with Article 9 of the North Atlantic Treaty and the guidance given by the Working Group on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization during the first Council session in Washington in 1949, the Defence Committee rapidly established the Military Committee.[3] During its few sessions held behind closed doors in Washington, the Military Committee gave policy guidance on military matters to the Standing Group, and advice on military questions to the Defence Committee and other bodies, and it recommended military measures for the unified defence of the North Atlantic region to the Defence Committee. The Military Committee was directly subordinate to the Defence Committee, and each member nation was represented by its chief of staff or a deputy. Iceland, which had no military forces, was represented by a civilian. Each member state in turn held the Chair of the Military Committee for one year (C1 D-1/2,[4] DC 1/2[5]).

General Knud Bartels in 2014

Two other groups which also sat in Washington came directly under the Military Committee:

• the Standing Group, the executive body, set up at the beginning, responsible for Military Committee everyday business;
• the Military Representatives Committee (MRC), created at the end of 1950, to ensure communication of information and points of view between the Standing Group and Alliance member states not represented on it.

The Chairman of the Military Committee is elected from among the NATO Chiefs of Defence and appointed for a three-year term of office. He must have served as Chief of defence – or an equivalent capacity – in his own country and is traditionally a non-US officer of four-star rank or national equivalent.[6]

The Chairman of the Military Committee chairs all meetings and acts in an international capacity. In his absence, the Deputy Chairman of the Military Committee takes the chair. The current Chairman is United Kingdom Air Chief Marshal Stuart Peach. The NATO Military Command Structure consists of two strategic commands and is directed by the International Military Staff:[7]

The commands under SACEUR - Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum, Allied Joint Force Command Naples and Joint Force Command Norfolk are Operational Level Commands, while Headquarters Allied Air Command, Headquarters Allied Maritime Command and Headquarters Allied Land Command are Tactical Level Commands.[8] SACEUR also has operational command of the Joint Support and Enabling Command.[9]

Liaison:       Provides advice and support to the NAC

Political strategic level:

NA Council

NATO SG Brussels, BE

IS Brussels, BE

Military strategic level:

CMC (NATO MC)  DGIMS (IMS) Brussels, BE

SACEUR (ACO, SHAPE) Mons, BE

SACT (ACT, HQ SACT) Norfolk, US

Operational level:

JFCBS Brunssum, NL

JWC Stavanger, NO

AIRCOM Ramstein, DE

JALLC Lisbon, PT

MARCOM Northwood, GB

JFTC Bydgoszcz, PL

LANDCOM İzmir, TR

CIS GP Mons, BE

JFCNP Naples, IT

JFC-NF Norfolk, Virginia, US

Since the formation of NATO, its Military Chairmen have been:[10]

NATO Military Committee in Chiefs-of-Staff Session (1949-1963)

No.	Picture	Chairman of the NATO Military Committee	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Defence branch	Nationality
1		Bradley, OmarGeneral of the Army Omar Bradley (1893–1981)	4 April 1949	2 April 1951	1 year, 363 days	United States Army	United States United States
2		Baele, EtienneLt. General Etienne Baele (1891–1975)	2 April 1951	1952	0–1 years	Belgian Army	Belgium Belgium
3		Foulkes, CharlesLt. General Charles Foulkes (1903–1969)	1952	1953	0–1 years	Canadian Army	Canada Canada
4		Qvistgaard, E.J.C.Admiral Erhard J.C. Qvistgaard (1898–1980)	1953	1954	0–1 years	Royal Danish Navy	Denmark Denmark
5		Guillaume, AugustinGeneral Augustin Guillaume (1895–1983)	1954	1955	0–1 years	French Army	France France
6		Pallis, StylianosGeneral Stylianos Pallis	1955	1956	0–1 years	Hellenic Army	Greece Greece
7		Mancinelli, GiuseppeGeneral Giuseppe Mancinelli (1895–1976)	1956	1 January 1957	0–1 years	Italian Army	Italy Italy
8		Hasselman, BenGeneral Ben Hasselman (1898–1984)	1 January 1957	1 February 1958	1 year, 31 days	Royal Netherlands Army	Netherlands Netherlands
9		Øen, BjarneLt. General Bjarne Øen (1898–1994)	1 February 1958	1959	0–1 years	Royal Norwegian Air Force	Norway Norway
10		Ferraz, J.A. BelezaGeneral J.A. Beleza Ferraz (1901–?)	1959	1960	0–1 years	Portuguese Army	Portugal Portugal
11		Erdelhun, RüştüGeneral Rüştü Erdelhun (1894–1983)	23 February 1960	3 June 1960	0 years	Turkish Land Forces	Turkey Turkey
12		Mountbatten, LouisAdmiral of the Fleet Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (1900–1979)	3 June 1960	1961	0–1 years	Royal Navy	United Kingdom United Kingdom
13		Lemnitzer, LymanGeneral Lyman Lemnitzer (1899–1988)	1961	1962	0–1 years	United States Army	United States United States
14		de Cumont, Charles PaulLt. General Charles Paul de Cumont (1902–1990)	1962	December 1963	0–1 years	Belgian Army	Belgium Belgium

NATO Military Committee in Permanent Session (1958-1963)

No.	Picture	Chairman of the NATO Military Committee	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Defence branch	Nationality
1		Hasselman, BenGeneral Ben Hasselman (1898–1984)	1 February 1958	April 1961	3 years, 2 months	Royal Netherlands Army	Netherlands Netherlands
2		Heusinger, AdolfGeneral Adolf Heusinger (1897–1982)	April 1961	December 1963	2 years, 8 months	West German Army	Germany West Germany

NATO Military Committee (1963-present)

No.	Picture	Chairman of the NATO Military Committee	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Defence branch	Nationality
1		Heusinger, AdolfGeneral Adolf Heusinger (1897–1982)	December 1963	1 April 1964	4 months	West German Army	Germany West Germany
2		de Cumont, Charles PaulLt. General Charles Paul de Cumont (1902–1990)	1 April 1964	1 June 1968	4 years, 61 days	Belgian Army	Belgium Belgium
3		Henderson, NigelAdmiral Sir Nigel Henderson (1909–1993)	1 June 1968	1 April 1971	2 years, 304 days	Royal Navy	United Kingdom United Kingdom
4		Steinhoff, JohannesGeneral Johannes Steinhoff (1913–1994)	1 April 1971	28 June 1974	3 years, 88 days	West German Air Force	Germany West Germany
5		Hill-Norton, PeterAdmiral of the Fleet Sir Peter Hill-Norton (1915–2004)	28 June 1974	20 March 1977	2 years, 265 days	Royal Navy	United Kingdom United Kingdom
6		Zeiner-Gundersen, Herman FredrikGeneral Herman Fredrik Zeiner-Gundersen (1915–2002)	20 March 1977	1980	2–3 years	Norwegian Army	Norway Norway
7		Falls, Robert HilbornAdmiral Robert Hilborn Falls (1924–2009)	1980	November 1983	2–3 years	Canadian Maritime Command	Canada Canada
8		de Jager, CornelisGeneral Cor de Jager (1925–2001)	November 1983	30 September 1986	2 years, 333 days	Royal Netherlands Army	Netherlands Netherlands
9		Altenburg, WolfgangGeneral Wolfgang Altenburg (born 1928)	30 September 1986	5 September 1989	2 years, 340 days	West German Army	Germany West Germany
10		Eide, VigleikGeneral Vigleik Eide (1933–2011)	5 September 1989	31 December 1992	3 years, 117 days	Norwegian Army	Norway Norway
11		Vincent, RichardField Marshal Sir Richard Vincent (1931–2018)	1 January 1993	14 February 1996	3 years, 45 days	British Army	United Kingdom United Kingdom
12		Naumann, KlausGeneral Klaus Naumann (born 1939)	14 February 1996	6 May 1999	3 years, 81 days	German Army	Germany Germany
13		Venturoni, GuidoAdmiral Guido Venturoni (born 1934)	6 May 1999	30 June 2002	3 years, 55 days	Italian Navy	Italy Italy
14		Kujat, HaraldGeneral Harald Kujat (born 1942)	1 July 2002	17 June 2005	2 years, 351 days	German Air Force	Germany Germany
15		Henault, RaymondGeneral Raymond Henault (born 1949)	17 June 2005	27 June 2008	3 years, 10 days	Canadian Air Command	Canada Canada
16		Di Paola, GiampaoloAdmiral Giampaolo Di Paola (born 1944)	27 June 2008	18 November 2011	3 years, 144 days	Italian Navy	Italy Italy
-		Gaskin, Walter E.Lt. General Walter E. Gaskin (born 1951) Acting	18 November 2011	2 January 2012	45 days	United States Marine Corps	United States United States
17		Bartels, KnudGeneral Knud Bartels (born 1952)	2 January 2012	26 June 2015	3 years, 175 days	Royal Danish Army	Denmark Denmark
18		Pavel, PetrGeneral Petr Pavel (born 1961)	26 June 2015	29 June 2018	3 years, 3 days	Army of the Czech Republic	Czech Republic Czech Republic
19		Peach, StuartAir Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach (born 1956)	29 June 2018	Incumbent	2 years, 219 days	Royal Air Force	United Kingdom United Kingdom

• NATO Military Committee
• Chairman of the European Union Military Committee
• International Military Staff
• Supreme Allied Commander Europe

• Douglas S. Bland, 'The Military Committee of the North Atlantic Alliance: A Study of Structure and Strategy,' New York, Praeger, 1991.