The purpose of the visit was to provide an Operations Brief on recent and future exercises and activities STRIKFORNATO has or will lead such as NEPTUNE STRIKE 22 and BALTOPS 22, give a tour of the HQ while introducing staff and discuss STRIKFORNATO's role in the Alliance.
NEPTUNE STRIKE 22 vigilance activity alone proved STRIKFORNATO's success and significant contribution to the NATO Alliance
While it was not General Radford's first visit to STRIKFORNATO HQ, he remarked, "It has been a pleasure visiting STRIKFORNATO and seeing first-hand the importance of this rapidly deployable headquarters within NATO. The success and interworking of NEPTUNE STRIKE 22 vigilance activity alone proved STRIKFORNATO's success and significant contribution to the NATO Alliance."
General Radford previously served as the Deputy Commander of NATO's Op Resolute Support in Afghanistan assumed the role of DSACEUR in April 2020.
Allied Command Operations (ACO) is one of NATO's two strategic military commands. It is commanded by the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) and is responsible for all Alliance military operations.
The command headquarters, known as Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, or SHAPE, is located in Casteau near Mons, Belgium. The mission of ACO and the SACEUR is to contribute to preserving the peace, security and territorial integrity of NATO member nations in its area of responsibility. DSACEUR serves as second in command to SACEUR leading NATO troops and operations.
STRIKFORNATO, headquartered in Oeiras, Portugal, is SACEUR's rapidly deployable and scalable headquarters capable of planning and executing full spectrum joint maritime operations, primarily through the integration of U.S. naval and amphibious forces, in order to provide assurance, deterrence, and collective defence for the Alliance.
