NATO Allied Joint Force Command Norfolk displays new signage on its headquarters building in Norfolk, Va., on Aug. 19, 2025. Leadership of JFC Norfolk and a NATO command in Naples, Italy, will shift from U.S. to European hands. (NATO)
STUTTGART, Germany — Leadership of two NATO commands will shift from U.S. to European hands in connection with a shakeup aimed at having allies shoulder more responsibility in the 32-nation bloc, according to an organization insider.
NATO Joint Force Command in Norfolk, Va., and a similar headquarters in Naples, Italy, both led by American officers, will eventually transfer to European officers, the NATO official told Stars and Stripes on Tuesday.
Unaffected by the plan is leadership of NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe slot, which has always been in the hands of an American officer.
“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,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The official described the arrangement as “Europe moving to the fore, and Americans absolutely committed to NATO.”
In a related move, responsibility for NATO’s Maritime Command in the United Kingdom will be shifted to the leader of the Naples-based U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa.
The plan would give the head of NAVEUR-AF dual-hatted NATO command responsibilities in a similar manner to the leaders of U.S. Army Europe and Africa and U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa, who oversee corresponding NATO land and air command headquarters.
A NATO statement Tuesday offered more detail about the arrangement.
The U.K. will lead Joint Force Command Norfolk, and Italy will do the same for the Naples headquarters. Meanwhile, Germany and Poland will share leadership of Joint Force Command Brunssum in the Netherlands on a rotational basis.
The change puts Europeans in charge of all three of NATO’s four-star commands, which lead at the operational level in crisis and conflict, the statement said.
The developments, first reported by Politico on Monday, come ahead of a NATO defense ministers meeting Thursday in Brussels, where allies are expected to discuss U.S. force posture in Europe.
During the past year, American officials including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have emphasized the need for allies in Europe to shoulder more responsibility for NATO and the defense of Europe.
In particular, the Pentagon wants allies to provide the lion’s share of military capabilities when it comes to the conventional defense of the Continent. Those priorities also now extend to NATO’s command structure as Europeans take on more prominent roles.
Matthew Whitaker, the U.S. ambassador to NATO, said Monday that the U.S. remains committed to the alliance but that allies must follow through on plans to beef up their own defenses.
“We are not trying to dismantle NATO,” Whitaker said at a forum in Munich ahead of a major security conference in that city later this week.
Still, having Europeans play a far more expansive role in NATO’s command structure has been on Whitaker’s mind.
During a November security conference in Berlin, Whitaker said he was hopeful that one day the position of SACEUR would be under German command.
