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NATO in the First Decade after the Cold War pp 60–97Cite as

Conventional Force Restructuring

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Abstract

‘Integration’ as applied to NATO conventional forces has been used loosely, covering distinct structures and processes. During the Cold War period there were three main ones: the joint command and defence planning staffs at SHAPE and its subordinate command headquarters, the existence of actual joint military units, and the force-planning process which was organised within the NATO and SHAPE frameworks, as discussed in Chapter 1. Writing in 1949, at the very outset of NATO’s history, George Fielding Eliot identified three key criteria for an effective ‘military organization under the Atlantic Pact’. The first of these was political and economic co-ordination; embracing political unity at the most senior level amongst the allies as well as military equipment standardisation. Secondly, Eliot emphasised the importance of ‘strategic co-ordination’. By this he meant that the allies should develop a facility for common military planning. Finally, Eliot made the case for the creation of a joint military command structure.1

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  1. Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, UK

    Martin A. Smith

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Smith, M.A. (2000). Conventional Force Restructuring. In: NATO in the First Decade after the Cold War. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-9367-0_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-9367-0_3

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  • Print ISBN: 978-90-481-5583-5

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