US to turn over two NATO commands to Europeans

PHOTO CAPTION: Illustrative photo — The NATO flag is displayed with the American flag in the foreground at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Jan. 18, 2024. (U.S. Department of Defense photo by U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer James Mullen)

BRUSSELS  -  The United States will turn over two of NATO's major command posts - in Naples, Italy and Norfolk, Virginia - to European officers, a military source told Reuters on Monday.

The move is in keeping with U.S. President Donald Trump's demands that European nations take more responsibility for their own security. His administration has called for the military alliance, long dominated by the United States, to become a "European-led NATO".

As part of the command reshuffle, European officers would take over NATO's Allied Joint Force Command in Naples and Joint Force Command Norfolk, both currently led by U.S. admirals, said the source, speaking on condition of anonymity.

However, the U.S. would take the reins of three commands slightly lower in the hierarchy but which bear significant responsibility for operations - Allied Air Command, Allied Maritime Command and Allied Land Command, the military source and another person familiar with the matter said.

Asked about the planned changes, a NATO official said: "Allies have agreed on a new distribution of senior officer responsibility across the NATO Command Structure in which European Allies, including NATO’s newest members, will play a more prominent role in the Alliance’s military leadership."

The official said the decision related to "planning for future rotations" and more details would be provided in due course.

The command changes were earlier reported by French outlet La Lettre and by Politico.

 (Reporting by Sabine Siebold; Additional reporting by Jonathan Landay,  Humeyra Pamuk and Andrew Gray; Writing by Andrew Gray; Editing by Benoit Van Overstraeten and Deepa Babington // REUTERS)