THEATER CAMPAIGN PLANNING FOR NATO'S NORTHERN REGION

Abstract

Abstract : For years the Northern Region has been considered of secondary importance to NATO theater military operations. But with the buildup of Soviet forces in the area, especially those on the Kola Peninsula and within the Northern Fleet, Soviet military operations now have the potential to seriously threaten NATO's Atlantic sea lines of communication and even outflank allied forces in the Central Region itself. NATO's response to this threat is a fragmented division of responsibility among the three major NATO commands--Allied Command Europe (ACE), Allied Command Atlantic (ACLANT), and Allied Command Channel (ACCHAN). Allied Forces Northern Europe (AFNORTH), a major subordinate headquarters of ACE, is the Northern Region warfighting command charged with planning and conducting a joint and combined campaign. However, in view of the growing Soviet naval threat in the Northern Region, we must ask whether AFNORTH still has adequate command structure, forces, operational depth, and agility to plan and conduct an effective campaign in a theater where maritime influences have emerged as a dominant feature of the operational environment. The Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic (SACLANT) and Commander-in-Chief Channel (CINCHAN) have overlapping responsibilities for planning and conducting simultaneous yet separate maritime campaigns in the same general area, yet there does not appear to be a mechanism for developing a cohesive combined campaign plan that unites and synchronizes all air, land, and sea operations for the entire Northern Region.