NATO approved two new alliance commands Wednesday to put a greater focus on maritime security, logistics and military mobility, and cyber defense, DoD News reported.
Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in Brussels that defense ministers agreed to revamp the command structure because of concerns including the Russia threat, out-of-area operations and the status of NATO’s southern flank.
“At the end of the Cold War, NATO had 22,000 staff working in 33 commands,” Stoltenberg said. “Today, the command structure is reduced to fewer than 7,000 staff in seven commands.”
The new joint force command, which will be hosted by the U.S., will “help protect sea lines of communication between North America and Europe,” Stoltenberg said. “We will establish a new support command for logistics, reinforcement and military mobility — improving the movement of troops and equipment is essential to our collective deterrence and defense.”
Germany will host the logistics command, while a new cyber operations center at will be set up at NATO’s military headquarters.
Ministers are expected to make decisions on timelines, locations and staffing this summer.