NATO Assumes Command of Libya Operations

By Jim Garamone

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, March 31, 2011 – NATO has taken sole command of international air operations over Libya, Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen announced in Stockholm today.

NATO has all the assets in place for Operation Unified Protector, including forces for the arms embargo and no-fly zone and actions to protect civilians and civilian centers, Rasmussen said.

The operations are taking place under the auspices of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973.

Adm. Giampaolo Di Paola of the Italian navy, chairman of the NATO Military Committee, said the alliance has gradually taken over command of these operations from U.S. Africa Command.

“This decision followed a constructive debate among NATO political and military authorities, and has been taken by the alliance in a remarkable short lap of time,” he said.

NATO officials have directed U.S. Navy Adm. James G. Stavridis, NATO’s supreme allied commander for Europe, “to launch the operation without any gaps while the transfer of assets is ongoing,” Di Paola said. The operation is under the command of Lt. Gen. Charles Bouchard of the Canadian Forces.

The NATO mission also has contributions from partner nations, including Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

“We consider regional support as fundamental, in line with the principles and core tasks highlighted in NATO’s new Strategic Concept,” Di Paola said. “I want to be clear. The focus of our mission is to protect the civilian population. We know that this is a challenging endeavor and the situation on the ground is complex. We are also aware that there is no purely military solution to the crisis.”

Alliance officials stressed that the alliance will adhere strictly to the mission delineated by the U.N. resolution.

“NATO is not engaged in Libya to decide the future of the Libyan people,” Di Paola said. “That is up to Libyans themselves. We are helping enforce the will of the international community to protect them from attacks so that they can start shaping and deciding of their future.”

CTF 52 Conducts Mine Countermeasure Exercise with NATO

By U.S. Naval Forces Central Command Public Affairs

MANAMA, Bahrain (NNS) -- Commander, Task Force 52 ships participated in a mine countermeasures exercise with Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group (SNMCMG) 2 and French forces in the Arabian Gulf March 20-24.

Mine countermeasures ships USS Ardent (MCM 12) and USS Scout (MCM 8), Royal Navy's Fleet auxiliary landing dock ship RFA Lyme Bay and mine countermeasures ships HMS Pembroke and HMS Middleton, all assigned to CTF 52, participated alongside French Ships Croix de Sud and Var as well as the ships of SNMCMG 2 -- Greek frigate HS Spetsai, and minehunters FGS Herten (Germany), HS Kallisto (Greece) ITS Viareggio (Italy) and ESPS Tajo (Spain).

The five-day long exercise gave all forces an opportunity to increase tactical and technical proficiency in a variety of disciplines and emphasized operating as part of a multi-national effort.

In addition to mine detection and neutralization events, the ships conducted gunnery exercises, a group formation photo exercise, underway replenishments and operations with helicopters from Spetsai and Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron (HM) 15 Det 2, assigned to CTF 52.

"The NATO PASSEX [passing exercise] provided great opportunities to not only practice our core mine warfare competencies, but to do so with our NATO partners. Together, we were able to become a better prepared, more unified force," said Lt. Cmdr. Curtis Sparling, Scout's commanding officer.

At the conclusion of the event, a reception was held aboard Greek frigate HS Spetsai, serving as the flagship for SNMCMG 2. It provided a chance for the crews to meet one another in person.

U.S. Fifth Fleet Commander, Vice Adm. Mark Fox attended the event.

"We have a unique set of challenges in this region," Fox said. "We rely on cooperation and partnerships with other coalitions and independent navies to help achieve our goals of maritime stability and security throughout the region."

CTF 52 is the mine countermeasures force of the Coalition Forces Maritime Component Command overseen by the U.S. 5th Fleet. It operates regularly to ensure free and unfettered use of the sea lanes in the central Arabian Gulf, one of the world's critical stretches of sea for international commerce.

Stavridis Expresses Optimism on Afghanistan

By Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Philip Grondin

Regional Command Southwest

CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan, Jan. 20, 2011 – While expressing confidence for Afghanistan’s future, U.S. Navy Adm. James G. Stavridis also emphasized that the road ahead still poses challenges.

Stavridis, NATO’s supreme allied commander for Europe, met here Jan. 18 with coalition leaders from Regional Command Southwest.

“I’m cautiously optimistic about the future of Afghanistan,” Stavridis said. “2011 is going to be a tough year. There’s going to be combat, we’re going to take losses, but it will be a year in which we start a transition process that will conclude in 2014 with Afghan-led operations all over Afghanistan. I’m confident we’re going to succeed here.”

The admiral cited various challenges the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force must face in Afghanistan.

“I think it’s a combination of a resilient enemy [and] a combination of working with the civilian population that faces corruption and governance challenges,” he said. “But I don’t see any challenge here in Afghanistan that we can’t overcome by training the Afghan security forces, protecting the people of Afghanistan, working closely with our friends and allies, taking an interagency approach and doing exactly what I’m doing right now -- strategic communications [and] telling the story -- because it will be a story of success over time in Afghanistan.”

Stavridis’ visit here was part of a three-day trip to Afghanistan that included meetings in the Afghan capital of Kabul with Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of ISAF and U.S. forces, and Army Lt. Gen. David M. Rodriguez, who leads ISAF Joint Command. Adm. Giampaolo DiPaola of the Italian navy, NATO chief of military missions, and ambassadors from Denmark, Italy, Romania and Poland accompanied him on the trip.

Stavridis received updates on operations in Helmand and Nimroz provinces, progress in Marja and the continuing fight against the Taliban in Sangin.

He also was briefed on the status of the Afghan army’s 215th Corps and received an overview of the work done by the provincial reconstruction team in Helmand province. The admiral also toured the Joint Security Academy Southwest, an Afghan security forces training facility here.