Turkey Transfers Command to France in NATO Tomorrow

NATO has always had one strategic goal: to deter the Soviet Union from invading Western Europe. Besides this purpose, other discourses (preventing the resurgence of military nationalism in Europe and promoting European political integration) remained in the background.

The philosophical aspect of NATO-Russia relations, which was tried to be built on the basis of 'friendship' with the Russians after the Cold War, can be expressed as 'to keep the Russians under control'. While the Alliance took on tasks in the context of collective security in order to adapt to the global agenda of the USA in the 1990s, it did not give up on the understanding of collective defense, which is known as the main reason for its existence. In this context, the Alliance countries continued their preparations to always update the NATO force structure that could respond to the threats to their national security, to develop the talent pool and to use it under the NATO command structure when necessary, within the NATO defense planning dynamic and continued to try with exercises.

Six months after the Warsaw Pact collapsed in November 1991, NATO adopted its new Strategic Concept. NATO with the new concept; It reaffirmed "the defensive Alliance structure and its commitment to safeguarding the security, sovereignty and territorial integrity of its members". At the core of the Alliance's security policy are mutually reinforcing dialogue, cooperation and effective collective defense to keep the peace. The Alliance has declared that it will continue to ensure its security by using the new opportunities efficiently, consistent with the requirements of defence, and with the lowest possible force. The new concept has been read as a change that indicates NATO's intention to establish close relations with its former enemy (Russia).

The Strategic Concept, updated on NATO's 50th anniversary in 1999, focuses on the continuous development of military capabilities required by all Alliance missions, from collective defense to peace support and other crisis response operations. In other words, the 1999 concept paved the way for NATO to engage in all global problems beyond its classical borders when necessary.

The last concept, updated in 2010 and still valid today, encouraged allies to invest in core capabilities that could combat new threats. An approach to using the necessary forces under a command architecture that will force NATO to be more agile, capable and effective has been adopted. It also underlined the need for NATO to be ready to take a more active role in crisis management operations when needed.

During the Cold War, NATO had the luxury of knowing where to fight when needed, as the threat was predefined. At that time, NATO acted with the approach of keeping its assigned forces in the areas where they would fight and training them there. More than three million troops have been deployed in Europe and care has been taken to keep more than half of this force at a high level of readiness in areas close to potential conflict points.

Meanwhile, the method of rapidly reinforcing the forces in Europe, when necessary, has been on NATO's agenda since the 1970s. This paved the way for the American army to reduce the number of soldiers in Europe. Developing technical possibilities and capabilities have made it easier to shift force from one point to another and to build up. In this context, a rather large NATO exercise was held in 1988. In the "Return of American Forces to Germany" exercise called "Reforger", 125,000 American soldiers were transferred to Europe within ten days as per the scenario. In addition to military vehicles, civilian strategic transport planes were also used for the transfer of soldiers. In addition, the infrastructure of the regions where the soldiers will be deployed has been prepared in advance and the civil defense organizations of European countries have been utilized.

In the same years, NATO established the Allied Mobile Force (AMF), designed as a multinational rapid response force. The task of the AMF, which can be sent with a very short warning to any point under threat, is determined to show Alliance solidarity, the determination and ability to resist any aggression against any member of the Alliance. AMF; It is composed of national units allocated for this purpose, selected according to the requirements of a particular task, and trained in line with this task. The AMF was replaced in 2002 by the NATO Response Force (NRF), which can be described as a new version of the AMF.

At the Prague Summit held in November 2002, Alliance leaders established the NRF, which will consist of land, sea and air elements that will reach the needed point in a short time, have advanced technology, flexible, deployable, can work with other forces and will have continuity. they have decided. According to the NRF structure, it is envisaged that the participating member countries will allocate their forces to the NRF on a rotational basis, in six-month periods, within a plan. However, some problems experienced in the NRF (the lack of permanent allocation, the lack of the desired advanced technology in some countries and the financing of the NRF) have pushed NATO to new searches. In particular, the approach of "each country covers the cost of its own soldiers" ("costs would lie where they fall"), according to NATO's traditional policies, brought along discussions on how to cover the financing rather than maintaining a high level of preparedness in NRF assignments. Naturally, member states have begun to be reluctant to bear the cost burden of the NRF.

Meanwhile, at the 2014 Wales Summit; With the impact of the security problem that emerged with Russia's annexation of Crimea, the Alliance members finally found it necessary to reach a compromise in order to improve NATO capabilities in order to respond immediately to crises that may arise when necessary. As a result, it was decided to establish a Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VHRJTF or VJTF) under the roof of the NRF and to increase the number of soldiers of the NRF to 40,000.

However, it is known that the successful implementation of these decisions depends on the contribution of the contributing countries to their commitments to provide the necessary forces. At the Wales Summit, it was also decided to launch a Preparedness Action Plan against Russia. This issue was explained in the Summit Statement as follows:

“Today we approved the NATO Readiness Action Plan so that our alliance can respond quickly and decisively to new security challenges. This Plan provides a sensible and comprehensive package of necessary measures to respond to changes in the security environment within and beyond NATO's borders that raise concerns for Allies. The plan aims to respond to the problems created by Russia and their strategic consequences. It is also envisaged to respond to risks and threats emanating from our neighbors in the south, the Middle East and North Africa. The plan will strengthen NATO's collective defense capability. It will also strengthen our crisis management skills. It is intended that NATO remain a strong, prepared, resilient and responsive Alliance that can deal with current and future challenges (no matter where they originate)."

Events in the Balkans, Central Asia and the Middle East have shown that NATO's interests can no longer be confined to the traditional Euro-Atlantic region. However, Russia's occupation of the Crimean peninsula and its ongoing actions in eastern Ukraine, as well as its provocative military activities near NATO borders, are expressed as proof that deterrence and defense are still as important to NATO as before. Thus, in a world where defense budgets are shrinking and political priorities are changing, the Allied countries have committed themselves in Wales to fulfill the tasks that were the reason for NATO's founding and much more.

NATO defense ministers at the NATO Brussels Summit in 2018; They endorsed an initiative also known as “4x30”. Within the scope of this initiative, it is aimed to create a “culture of readiness” for the forces that can be ready to fight in a short time and can be deployed quickly across Europe. Thus, it is aimed to have 30 mechanized battalions, 30 air squadrons and 30 naval combat ships, so that NATO will be ready for use within 30 days. It has been decided that countries will achieve measurable and achievable force targets within the framework of a calendar, and that countries will have the responsibility of being accountable for their commitments on NATO platforms within the scope of defense planning.

Countries have begun to assume the command of the VJTF, which was created within this framework and has the highest level of readiness within NATO, in rotation. In principle, it has been adopted that the leading country should give the main force and other countries should reinforce this force in these periods. As of January 1, 2021, the command of the NATO VJTF has passed to Turkey. Poland assumed the command in 2020. As per NATO planning, France will take over this task from Turkey for one year as of January 1, 2022, and then hand it over to Germany on January 1, 2023.

The main element of the VJTF is planned to be the Franco-German brigade with a force of 3,500 in 2022. It was also envisaged that Spain, Portugal and Poland would add troops to this task force. As part of the NRF, which consists of 40,000 soldiers under the command of the NATO Allied Joint Force Command (JFC) in the Netherlands, the VJTF is ready for a year of joint training and operational readiness so that it can take action in a matter of days for the defense of the alliance. I need to wait is attached. The VJTF will be deployed in the requested area within five days when the order is placed.

Today, the hot developments on the Ukraine-Russia border play a role in increasing the importance and necessity of the VJTF. If the NATO-Russia talks do not result in success, scenarios that NATO might send the VJTF to the Ukrainian border have been discussed recently. In particular, in France, which will be the presidential election in 2022, it is said that Macron is likely to pass a tough test, especially in the VJTF.

VJTF; It is a stand-alone force designed to be used in the defense of the Alliance and in crises around the world, as the fastest deployable allied force of the multinational NRF, consisting of approximately 40,000 soldiers. The NRF most recently served in evacuation operations in Afghanistan. The VJTF, which was established for deterrence after Russia's annexation of Crimea, is equipped with the capabilities to mobilize approximately 20,000 soldiers and deploy them to the designated crisis area in a short time. Could 2022 be a tough year for the VJTF?

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