Standing NRF Maritime Group 2 - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2)
is a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation
(NATO) standing maritime

Navy

A navy is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake- or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions...

Immediate Reaction Forces. Prior to 1 January 2005 it was known as Standing Naval Force Mediterranean (STANAVFORMED or more colloquially as SNFM).

SNMG2 is a multinational, integrated maritime force - made up of vessels from various allied nations, training and operating together as a single team - that is permanently available to NATO to perform a wide range of tasks, from participating in exercises to crisis response and real world operational missions. Usually the Force is employed in the Mediterranean area but, as required, will be available anywhere NATO requires it to deploy.

Nations routinely contributing to the Force are Germany, Greece, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom and United States. Other NATO nations have also occasionally contributed.

SNMG2 carries out a continuous programme of operational training and conducts port visits to know and get known in many ports in and out of the Mediterranean, in NATO and non-NATO nations. These include ports in nations that are part of the Partnership for Peace, Mediterranean Dialogue and the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative programmes.

Composition of the Force varies as naval units are provided by NATO contributing nations on a rotational basis while Command of the Force rotates among them. Nations normally contributing to the group include Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, 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...

, Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

, Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

, 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...

and United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Other NATO nations have also occasionally contributed.

The composition of SNMG2 varies depending on the current contributions of nations, but generally consists of 4-8 frigate

Frigate

A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...

or destroyer

Destroyer

In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...

type ships and one oiler or support ship. Command of the force rotates in one year intervals among participating countries. The commander of SNMG2 reports to the Commander of Allied Component Command Maritime Naples, one of the two component commands of Allied Joint Force Command Naples.

Mission

NATO has two Standing Maritime Groups (SNMGs) and two Standing Maritime Mine Countermeasure Groups (SNMCMGs). The Groups provide the Alliance with a continuous maritime capability for NATO Response Force (NRF) operations, non-NRF operations and other activities in peacetime and periods of crisis and conflict. The primary role of these Forces, as standing elements of their respective NRF, is the full integration and participation in the NRF, providing maritime support to operations.

Other missions that are applicable to both SNMGs and SNMCMGs include establishing Alliance presence, demonstrating solidarity, conducting routine diplomatic visits to member, partner and non NATO countries, supporting transformation and providing a variety of maritime military capabilities to ongoing missions.

Force

The ships in the force are: Flagship

Flagship

A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...

, HDMS Esbern Snare L17

HDMS Esbern Snare (L17)

HDMS Esbern Snare is an support ship, and is along with her sister ship, the HDMS Absalon , the largest combat vessel currently commissioned in the Royal Danish Navy....

Operations

On 11 July 1992 the Force was directed to deploy to the Ionian Sea

Ionian Sea

The Ionian Sea , is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea, south of the Adriatic Sea. It is bounded by southern Italy including Calabria, Sicily and the Salento peninsula to the west, southern Albania to the north, and a large number of Greek islands, including Corfu, Zante, Kephalonia, Ithaka, and...

to be prepared for possible future operations, with reference to a NATO Ministerial decision to assist the monitoring of compliance with United Nations resolutions 713

United Nations Security Council Resolution 713

United Nations Security Council Resolution 713, adopted unanimously on September 25, 1991, after receiving representations from a number of Member States and commending the efforts of the European Community in the region, the Council decided to impose, under Chapter VII, an arms embargo on the...

and 757

United Nations Security Council Resolution 757

United Nations Security Council Resolution 757, adopted on May 30, 1992, after reaffirming resolutions 713 , 721 , 724 , 727 , 740 743 , 749 and 752 , the Council condemned the failure of the authorities in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to implement Resolution 752.After demanding the...

.
The North Atlantic Council decided on 15 July 1992 that NATO monitoring operations were to commence at 0800 local time on 16 July, when the first units of STANAVFORMED entered the Adriatic Sea

Adriatic Sea

The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges...

to begin participating in NATO’s Operation Maritime Monitor

Operation Maritime Monitor

Operation Maritime Monitor was a NATO operation during the Bosnian War to monitor compliance with sanctions imposed against the former Yugoslavia under United Nations Security Council resolutions 713 and 757 . The operation began on July 16, 1992 and ran until November 22, 1992...

. The Force was temporarily relieved by STANAVFORLANT in this operation on 9-26 September, to conduct the change of command, complete ship turnovers and conduct Force work-ups.
From 22 November 1992 to 15 June 1993 the force participated in Operation Maritime Guard

Operation Maritime Guard

Operation Maritime Guard was a NATO blockade, in the international waters of the Adriatic Sea, of the former Yugoslavia.-Scope:The operation began on November 22, 1992...

which was the NATO contribution towards the enforcement of the UN embargoes on the Former Yugoslavia

Former Yugoslavia

The former Yugoslavia is a term used to describe the present day states which succeeded the collapse of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia....

. The operation was conducted in coordination with the WEU Operation Sharp Fence.

On 15 June 1993 these two operations were merged in the combined NATO/WEU Operation Sharp Guard

Operation Sharp Guard

Operation Sharp Guard was a multi-year joint naval blockade in the Adriatic Sea by NATO and the Western European Union on shipments to the former Yugoslavia. Warships and maritime patrol aircraft from 14 countries were involved in searching for and stopping blockade runners.The operation began on...

. Part of the Force visited the port of Haifa, from 16-22 November 1993. STANAVFORMED continued to conduct embargo enforcement operations until 18 June 1996, when the UN arms embargo against the Former Yugoslavia was terminated. Since then, STANAVFORMED remained ready to resume Sharp Guard operations at short notice, should UN sanctions be re-established, until all embargoes were terminated on 1 October 1996. From 22 November 1992 – when enforcement operations began - to 18 June 1996, NATO and WEU Forces challenged over 70,000 vessels. Of these, over 7,000 were boarded and inspected or diverted to a port for inspection. After the UN authorized enforcement actions in April 1993 no ship was able to break the maritime embargoes.

STANAVFORMED deployed to the Adriatic Sea on 14 October 1998 as part of NATO’s preparations for possible operations in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Following the signature of agreements under which the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia committed to comply with requests from the international community, the Force was eventually authorised to resume normal duties. Because of the renewed violence in Kosovo

Republic of Kosovo

Kosovo , officially the Republic of Kosovo is a partially recognised state and a disputed territory in the Balkans...

, the North Atlantic Council decided, on 20 January 1999, to take measures to increase the capability of NATO forces to conduct air operations against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Among these measures, STANAVFORMED was ordered to deploy to the Adriatic Sea to increase Alliance presence in the area and provide evidence of NATO’s resolve. With termination of the air operation Allied Force

Operation Allied Force

The NATO bombing of Yugoslavia was NATO's military operation against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The strikes lasted from March 24, 1999 to June 10, 1999...

, on 20 June 1999, STANAVFORMED returned to its normal peacetime duties, whilst remaining ready to support continuing NATO’s operations.

Following the North Atlantic Council’s decision on implementation of Article 5 of the Washington Treaty as a consequence of the September 11, 2001 attacks against the United States, STANAVFORMED was withdrawn from exercise Destined Glory 2001 on 6 October 2001 and deployed to the Eastern Mediterranean to conduct Operation Active Endeavour

Operation Active Endeavour

Operation Active Endeavour is a maritime operation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It operates in the Mediterranean Sea and is designed to prevent the movement of terrorists or weapons of mass destruction. It has also collateral benefits in enhanced security of shipping in general...

, NATO’s maritime contribution to the fight against terrorism. Since then STANAVFORMED and later SNMG2 participated in and supported Operation Active Endeavour whenever required.

At request of the United Nations SNMG2 was deployed by NATO off Somali coast to conduct Operation Allied Provider, to deter, defend and protect World Food Program (WFP) vessels against the threat of piracy and armed robbery, thereby allowing WFP to fulfil its mission of providing humanitarian aid.

Organization

SNMG2 is a component of the NATO Response Force

NATO Response Force

The NATO Response Force is a "coherent, high-readiness, joint, multinational force package" of up to 25,000 troops that is "technologically advanced, flexible, deployable, interoperable and sustainable"...

(NRF).

Operationally, SNMG2 reports to the Maritime Component Command Naples, which is one of the three Component Commands of Joint Force Command Naples

Joint Force Command Naples

Allied Joint Force Command Naples is a NATO military command. It was activated on 15 March 2004, after what was effectively a redesignation of its predecessor command, Allied Forces Southern Europe , originally formed in 1951...

History

Standing Naval Force Mediterranean (STANAVFORMED) was activated on 30 April 1992, in Naples

Naples

Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...

, Italy

Italy

. STANAVFORMED was the successor to the NATO Naval On-Call Force Mediterranean (NAVOCFORMED) - which had been periodically activated for more than 20 years.

During the 1990s, STANAVFORMED was heavily involved in Operation Sharp Guard

Operation Sharp Guard

, the maritime embargo in the Adriatic Sea

Adriatic Sea

The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges...

.

On 6 October 2001, STANAVFORMED deployed to the Eastern Mediterranean in support of Operation Active Endeavour

Operation Active Endeavour

, NATO's maritime contribution to the fight against terrorism. Although Task Force Endeavour is now made up of dedicated assets, the two SNMGs routinely "surge" to provide additional assets to the operation. When not directly supporting operations, the force conducts a rigorous plan of exercises, maneuvers and port visits.

The Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2) assumed the current denomination on 1 January 2005, when new names and missions were allocated to NATO's maritime Immediate Reaction Forces, to make them part of the NRF. When not required for specific NRF tasks, the NATO Standing Naval Groups will be carrying out the same activities as they have been doing under their old names.

Mission

Force

Operations

Organization

History

See also