Iceland Defense Force
Encyclopedia
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Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
command
Command (military formation)
A command in military terminology is an organisational unit that the individual in Military command has responsibility for. A Commander will normally be specifically appointed into the role in order to provide a legal framework for the authority bestowed...
of the United States armed forces
United States armed forces
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.The United States has a strong tradition of civilian control of the military...
from 1951 to 2006. The IDF, created at the request of NATO, came into existence when the United States signed an agreement to provide for the defense of Iceland, which does not, and did not, have its own unified defense force
Military of Iceland
Icelands defences consist of the Icelandic Coast Guard which patrols Icelandic waters and airspace and other services such as the National Commissioner's National Security and Special Forces Units....
.
Organization
The IDF was formally headquartered at KeflavíkKeflavík
Keflavík is a town in the Reykjanes region in southwest Iceland. In 2009 its population was of 8,169.In 1995 it merged with Njarðvík and Hafnir to form a municipality called Reykjanesbær with a population of 13,971 .- History :...
, though its base was actually at Miðnesheiði near Keflavík.
The IDF was a subordinate unified command of United States Atlantic Command
United States Atlantic Command
United States Atlantic Command was a Unified Combatant Command of the United States Department of Defense. In 1999, U.S. Atlantic Command was renamed and given a new mission as United States Joint Forces Command.-History:USLANTCOM was active from the 1947 to 1993 as a primarily U.S...
for a long period before passing to the control of the renamed United States Joint Forces Command
United States Joint Forces Command
United States Joint Forces Command was a former Unified Combatant Command of the United States Armed Forces. USJFCOM was a functional command that provided specific services to the military. The last commander was Army Gen. Raymond T. Odierno...
. From October 2002 until its disbandment, it was under the control of the United States European Command
United States European Command
The United States European Command is one of ten Unified Combatant Commands of the United States military, headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. Its area of focus covers and 51 countries and territories, including Europe, Russia, Iceland, Greenland, and Israel...
.
The IDF was composed of Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
, Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
, and Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
personnel as well as local Icelandic civilians. In addition, there were a few Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
and Coast Guard
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...
personnel attached to this command.
There were more than 25 different commands of various sizes attached to Iceland Defense Force. Although staffing varied over the years, it was approximately 1350 U.S. military personnel (not including Reservists), 100 Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
civilians, and 650 Icelanders, both civilians and firemen given military training manning the local Naval Firefighting team, as well as military members from Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
worked on NAS Keflavik
Naval Air Station Keflavik
United States Naval Air Station Keflavik is a former NATO facility at Keflavík International Airport, Iceland. It is located on the Reykjanes peninsula on the south-west portion of the island...
. A contingent of the United States Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
was responsible for ground defense.
The U.S. Air Force component of the force was the 85th Group
85th Group
The 85th Group is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with United States Air Forces in Europe, assigned to Third Air Force, being stationed at Naval Air Station Keflavik, Iceland. It was inactivated on 28 June 2006....
. The air forces stationed in Iceland included a rotational P-3 Orion
P-3 Orion
The Lockheed P-3 Orion is a four-engine turboprop anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft developed for the United States Navy and introduced in the 1960s. Lockheed based it on the L-188 Electra commercial airliner. The aircraft is easily recognizable by its distinctive tail stinger or...
patrol squadron deployed forward from the U.S. Navy's Patrol Wings Atlantic, and the F-15s of the 85th Group
85th Group
The 85th Group is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with United States Air Forces in Europe, assigned to Third Air Force, being stationed at Naval Air Station Keflavik, Iceland. It was inactivated on 28 June 2006....
. Commander Dennis Corrigan, Fleet Air Keflavik's operations officer, commented to Jane's Defence Weekly
Jane's Defence Weekly
Jane's Defence Weekly is a weekly magazine reporting on military and corporate affairs, edited by Peter Felstead. It is one of a number of military-related publications named after John F. T. Jane, an Englishman who first published Jane's All the World's Fighting Ships in 1898...
in 1996 that 'Keflavik is the only place where a US Navy flag officer has both P-3s and USAF F-15s working for him. ..We have developed a joint tactical doctrine: F-15s providing air superiority to allow the P-3 to do its job, whether its mining, anti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare is a branch of naval warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, or other submarines to find, track and deter, damage or destroy enemy submarines....
or something else.' With the reduction in Patrol Wings Atlantic to ultimately seven squadrons by 1994, commitments at NAS Roosevelt Roads and Sigonella were reallocated, with Patrol Wings, Pacific taking up the Caribbean tasking to allow a full complement of P-3s in Sicily.
In the event of a major ground threat, the Army component, U.S. Army Iceland (ARICE), would have mobilized and become responsible for the ground defense of Iceland. ARICE consisted almost entirely of reserve components (until 1994, the main formation was the Army Reserve's 187th Infantry Brigade
187th Infantry Brigade (United States)
The 187th Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade of the United States Army. It was first formed under the United States Army Reserve's 94th Army Reserve Command, which wore the patch of the inactivated 94th Infantry Division, from which the 187th was formed when the 94th was inactivated and the...
) in the United States, and limited numbers of personnel participated in on-site training maneuvers.
Exercises
Operation Nordic Shield II was held in the summer of 1992. As they did five years before, units of the 94th Army Reserve Command; principally the 187th Infantry Brigade (Separate)187th Infantry Brigade (United States)
The 187th Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade of the United States Army. It was first formed under the United States Army Reserve's 94th Army Reserve Command, which wore the patch of the inactivated 94th Infantry Division, from which the 187th was formed when the 94th was inactivated and the...
, the 167th Support Group (Corps)
167th Support Battalion (United States)
The 167th Support Battalion is a support battalion of the United States Army Reserve based at Londonderry, New Hampshire, assigned to the 94th Regional Readiness Command....
and their subordinate battalion
Battalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
s and companies
Company (military unit)
A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 80–225 soldiers and usually commanded by a Captain, Major or Commandant. Most companies are formed of three to five platoons although the exact number may vary by country, unit type, and structure...
; deployed to Canadian Forces Base
Canadian Forces base
A Canadian Forces Base or CFB is a military installation of the Canadian Forces. For a facility to qualify as a Canadian Forces Base, it must station one or more major units .Minor installations are named Canadian Forces Station or CFS A Canadian Forces Base or CFB (French Base des forces...
Gagetown
CFB Gagetown
Canadian Forces Base Gagetown, referred to as CFB Gagetown is a large Canadian Forces Base located in southwestern New Brunswick.- Construction of the base :...
in southern New Brunswick
Sunbury County, New Brunswick
Sunbury County is located in central New Brunswick, Canada. A large military base is located in the western part of the county south of the town of Oromocto...
, to simulate the defense of Iceland against Warsaw Pact
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Treaty Organization of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance , or more commonly referred to as the Warsaw Pact, was a mutual defense treaty subscribed to by eight communist states in Eastern Europe...
forces, the CAPSTONE mission of both the 187th and 167th. Part of the 1992 exercise included lanes training as part of the United States Army Forces Command
United States Army Forces Command
United States Army Forces Command is the largest Army Command and the preeminent provider of expeditionary, campaign-capable land forces to Combatant Commanders. Headquartered at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, FORSCOM consists of more than 750,000 Active Army, U.S. Army Reserve, and Army National...
's "Bold Shift" initiative to reinforce unit war-fighting task proficiency.
Termination
On 15 March 2006 the U.S. Ambassador to Iceland announced the decision of the United States to withdraw the Iceland Defense Force before the end of September 2006. On September 30, the American military withdrew its final four Air Force fighter jets and a rescue helicopter squadron from KeflavíkKeflavík
Keflavík is a town in the Reykjanes region in southwest Iceland. In 2009 its population was of 8,169.In 1995 it merged with Njarðvík and Hafnir to form a municipality called Reykjanesbær with a population of 13,971 .- History :...
. Although NAS Keflavík has closed and the American military has left Iceland, the United States is still responsible for defending its ally and the facilities at Keflavík will still be available, in the event that a "surged expeditionary presence" is deemed necessary.
The Icelandic defence contractor Kögun
Kogun
Kogun is the first album recorded by the Los Angeles-based Toshiko Akiyoshi – Lew Tabackin Big Band. It was released in Japan by Victor in 1974 and received the Swing Journal Silver Disk prize for that year...
has been contracted to operate and service U.S. Navy communications equipment and facilities left behind.
See also
- Military of IcelandMilitary of IcelandIcelands defences consist of the Icelandic Coast Guard which patrols Icelandic waters and airspace and other services such as the National Commissioner's National Security and Special Forces Units....
- Icelandic Coast GuardIcelandic Coast GuardThe Icelandic Coast Guard is the service responsible for Iceland's coastal defense and maritime and aeronautical search and rescue. Origins of the Icelandic Coast Guard can be traced to 1859, when the corvette Ørnen started patrolling Icelandic waters...
- Icelandic Crisis Response UnitIcelandic Crisis Response UnitThe Iceland Crisis Response Unit or Íslenska Friðargæslan, is a 30-person unit with a capacity roster of up to 200 people operated by the Icelandic Ministry of Foreign Affairs...
- Icelandic Air PolicingIcelandic Air PolicingIcelandic Air Policing is a NATO operation conducted to patrol Iceland's airspace. As Iceland does not have an air force, it requested that its NATO allies periodically deploy fighter aircraft to Keflavik Air Base to provide protection of its airspace in 2006...
External links
- Reports on the partial withdrawal of U.S. forces in 2006: http://www.bjorn.is/pistlar/nr/3489 http://www.bjorn.is/greinar/nr/3486 http://www3.utanrikisraduneyti.is/frettaefni/frettatilkynningar/nr/2999