Allied Command Europe Mobile Force
| Allied Command Europe Mobile Forces | |
|---|---|
 U.S. soldiers wave from the back of aGama Goattowing a howitzer from a drop zone during NATO Exercise Ardent Ground '87 on 24 April 1987. | |
| Active | 1960 – 30 October 2002 |
| Country | North Atlantic Treaty Organization |
| Part of | Allied Command Europe |
| Headquarters | Campbell Barracks,Heidelberg |
TheAllied Command Europe Mobile Force(AMF) was a smallNATOquick reaction force, headquartered atHeidelberg,Germany, active from 1960 to 2002. It formed part ofAllied Command Europe(ACE), headquartered atSHAPEatCasteau,Belgium. The land component of the force, consisting of abrigade-sized formation of about 5,000 personnel, was composed of units from 14 NATO states.
HQ CO US AMF(L) Infantry was atColeman Barracks,Mannheim, GE 95-02, HQ AMF (L) was atSullivan Barracks,Mannheim, 1975–1991 andTurley Barracks,Mannheim, 1991–1995.[1]
ACE Mobile Force (Land)
[edit]The ACE Mobile Force-Land or AMF(L) was intended as a multinational force that could be quickly despatched to any part of ACE's command area - from North Norway, to Germany, to eastern Turkey - to demonstrate the solidarity of the alliance and its ability to resist all forms of aggression against any member state. During the Cold War the AMF-L did frequent exercises in North Norway and in other areas. TheBundeswehrresponded to the request of NATO from December 9, 1960, from January 1961 to provide a paratrooper battalion, a medical company, an airborne telecommunications company, and air transport units.
In October 1961 Bundeswehr units, including parts of the 1st Airborne Division (the Parachute Battalion 262) in the AMF in October 1961 in Sardinia during Exercise First Try in part, on the Belgian, British and American soldiers were also involved. In November 1965, the Parachute Battalion 262 took part in the AMF maneuver Eastern Express II on the southeast flank of NATO, which took place in Turkey under the leadership of the AMF commander Major GeneralMichael Fitzalan-Howard(UK). In total, 3,500 soldiers from the US, UK, Belgium, Germany and Italy participated in the maneuvers. In 1967 the maneuver Sunshine Express in Greece, also with German participation.
In 1970 at Narvik in northern Norway on the north flank of NATO, the AMF United maneuver Arctic Express with 4000 soldiers.
It was first deployed operationally in 1991 during theGulf War,when part of its air component was dispatched to watch the Turkish borders, in the face of a potential threat to a member's territory.
The AMF(L) was one of the NATO formations deployed to Norway during Exercise Strong Resolve 1998.
The AMF(L) formed the core of the Albania Force (AFOR), aNATO-led international force responsible for establishing and delivering humanitarian aid to refugees fromKosovoinAlbaniaduring the Kosovo crisis in 1999. It was led by Major GeneralJohn Reith,Commander AMF(L).
The Immediate Reaction Task Force (Land) (IRTF-L) was a novel command and control concept successfully developed and evaluated by the AMF(L) between 1999 and 2001. The IRTF(L) concept allowed the AMF(L), an existing Immediate Reaction Force multinational brigade HQ, to command a divisional sized force with minimal augmentation and no intermediate HQs. The trial concluded in December 2001.
The Telegraphwrote in 2002 that NATO had to disband the ACE Mobile Force, '..after Britain withdrew its contribution to ensure troops were available to join any US attack on Iraq. Britain's contribution to [the force] included key support troops, without which the 6,000-strong force could not operate. With no other NATO member prepared to contribute more soldiers, the alliance had no choice but to disband it.'[2]
HQ AMF(L) was disbanded on October 31, 2002 and has since been replaced by theNATO Response Force.[3]
Exercises
[edit]
The ACE Mobile Force took part in a large number of exercises.[4]
- 1961First Try,Sardinia
- 1962Southern Express,Greece
- 1963Finnmark,Norway
- 1963Summer Marmara Express,Greece
- 1965Eastern Express,Turkey
- 1966Summer Marmara Express,Greece and Turkey
- 1967Sunshine Express,Greece
- 1968 Greece
- 1969Olympic Express,Turkey
- 1970Deep Express,Turkey
- 1970Arctic Express,Narvik,Norway
- 1971Hellenic Express,Greece
- 1972Canadian Club,Germany
- 1973Absalom ExpressDenmark
- 1975Deep Express,Turkey
- 1975Advent Express,Great Britain
- 1976Halina Express,Great Britain
- 1977Schwarzer Husar,Great Britain
- 1980Anorak Express,Norway
- 1980Ardent Ground,Great Britain
- 1981Amber Express,Denmark
- 1981Ardent Ground,Portugal
- 1982Ardent Ground,Portugal
- 1983Ardent Ground,Belgium
- 1984 Avalanche Express, Norway
- 1984Ardent Ground,Great Britain
- 1985Archway Encounter,Turkey
- 1985 Albatross Exchange, Denmark
- 1986Ardent Ground,Belgium
- 1987Ardent Ground,Great Britain. Members of the Allied Command Europe Mobile Force from Belgium, the Netherlands, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the United Kingdom and the United States participated in the live artillery/air exercise ARDENT GROUND '87 atSalisbury Plain Training Areain Wiltshire.
- 1987Accord Express,Denmark
- 1987Aurora Express,Turkey
- 1988Arrowhead Express,Norway
- 1988Alley Express,Turkey
- 1989Ardent Ground,Italy
- 1989Armanda Exchange,Pavia di Udine and Paularo, Italy
- 1989Action Express,Denmark
- 1990Array Encounter 90,Norway
- 1991Alley Express,Denmark
- 1992Ardent Ground,Otterburn, Northumberland, Great Britain
- 1992Alley Express,Turkey
- 1993Arena Exchange,Puglia, Italy
- 1993Action Express,Denmark
- 1993Ardent Ground,Belgium
- 1994Arctic Express,Bardudoss, Norway
- 1994Ardent Ground,Baumholder, Germany
- 1994Arrow Exchange,Gaziantep, Turkey
- 1995Strong Resolve,Trondheim, Norway
- 1995Arctic Express,Norway
- 1996Cooperative Adventure Express,Belgium
- 1997Adventure Express,Norway[5]
- 1997Ardent Ground,Turkey
- 1998 Cooperative Adventure Exchange, Slovenia
- 1998Strong Resolve,Norway
- 1998Strong Resolve,Portugal
- 1999 Adventure Exchange, Italy
- 2000Joint Winter,Norway
- 2000 Ardent Ground, Hungary
- 2000 Adventure Exchange, Greece
- 2001Adventure Exchange,Turkey
- 2002Cooperative Adventure Exchange,Ukraine
References
[edit]- ^"51st Maintenance Battalion".
- ^Smith, Michael (2002-08-13)."Crack Nato unit disbanded as Britain pulls out".ISSN0307-1235.Retrieved2017-12-07.
- ^NATO Press Release (2002)098 - 12 August 2002
- ^Fallschirmjäger – Die Geschichte der 1. Luftlandedivision, Barett Verlag Solingen,ISBN3-924753598
- ^Arkin, William M. (2005).Code Names: Deciphering U.S. Military Plans, Programs, and Operations in the 9/11 World.Hanover, NH: Steerforth Press. pp.248, 259, 260.ISBN1-58642-083-6.
- NATO Handbook, 50th Anniversary Edition, 1998–99, p. 253, 255
- NATO website describing AFOR
Further reading
[edit]- Lieutenant Colonel Calvin H. Creasy, A perspective of the ACE mobile force,Military Review,November 1975
- Exercise Adventure Express 97at Globalsecurity.org
- Maloney, Sean (2004) 'Fire Brigade or Tocsin? NATO's ACE Mobile Force, Flexible Response and the Cold War',Journal of Strategic Studies,27:4, pp. 585–613
49°23′11.93″N8°40′55.08″E/ 49.3866472°N 8.6819667°E
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
