NATO increasing its Response Force up-to 40.000

by Roni Alasor in NATO HQ

Brussels, 24 June 2015 - Middle East Diplomatic (MED) - After a meeting of NATO Defence Ministers in Brussels, NATO Atlantic Alliance decided to increase further the strength and capability of the NATO Response Force up to 40,000 personnel, its including air, maritime and special operations components. Six small headquarters in Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania was also a part of the new decission.

In a Press conference in NATO HQ in Brussels, the NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that NATO Defence Ministers have "agreed to take further steps forward in adapting NATO to our changed and more challenging security environment”.

Stoltenberg told that, “second, we took measures to speed up our political and military decision-making, while maintaining political control.These include the authority for our Supreme Commander SACEUR to alert, stage and prepare our troops to be ready to go once the political decision is made. We also approved a new concept of advance planning.

Detailed advance planning and rapid decision-making are two sides of the same coin. They mean we are able to respond more rapidly and more effectively to threats – wherever they might come from.

Third, we finalized the design and composition of the six small headquarters we are setting up – in Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania.

They will each consist of around 40 people, and will play a key role in planning, exercises, and assisting potential reinforcement.

We will also consider setting up more such headquarters in other NATO countries. And several Allies have offered during the meeting to host such small headquarters”.