Deputy Chairman of the NATO Military Committee

The Deputy Chairman of the NATO Military Committee (DCMC) is the deputy head of the NATO Military Committee, which advises the North Atlantic Council (NAC) with best military policy and strategy. The Deputy Chairman assists the Chairman's roles as the senior military spokesman of the 29-nation alliance and principal advisor to the Secretary General. Additionally, the Deputy Chairman advises the Deputy Secretary General and serves as the principal agent for coordination of nuclear, biological, and chemical matters for the Military Committee. Finally, in the Chairman's absence, the Deputy Chairman directs the daily operations and business of the Military Committee, NATO's highest military authority.

The Deputy Chairman, always a US general or flag officer, provides a particular and ideal vantage point to serve the Alliance's Transatlantic bond. Having unique and relevant access to U.S. nuclear information coupled with an intimate relationship with NATO's 29 members offers distinctive opportunities to provide best military advice, especially pertaining to nuclear matters. While being a U.S. officer, the individual serves in an international capacity to represent the interests of the Alliance.

The current Deputy Chairman of the NATO Military Committee is Lieutenant General Steven Shepro, former Vice Director of Strategic Plans and Policy (J5) of the U.S. Joint Staff in Washington, D.C. He is the 21st Deputy Chairman and took office on November 4, 2016.

Origins
Established in 1949 during the first Council session in Washington, the Military Committee is NATO's highest military authority and advises the NAC and NATO's strategic commanders, the Supreme Allied Commander Transformation and the Supreme Allied Commander Europe. A Chairman position was initially established without a Deputy, but as the command structure evolved and the demands on the Chairman increased, the need for a Deputy became obvious.

The Deputy's origins come from within the structure of the International Military Staff (IMS) as the 1963 Military Committee reforms provided the Director of the IMS a vice-director who held "special responsibilities for nuclear matters." This office was always an American to link the United States and NATO in nuclear strategy. Two dynamics served as the catalyst to establish the Deputy Chairman position on the Military Committee as it reflects today: 1. When the Chairman was away from Brussels, using a Military Representative within the Military Committee as a substitute proved unviable due to the conflict of simultaneously representing the interests of the Military Committee at large and one's own national interests and 2. the Military Committee did not want to create additional high-ranking officer positions to resolve the first issue. As a solution, the Military Committee elected to eliminate the Vice Director of the IMS position and simultaneously establish a new post of Deputy Chairman of the Military Committee. The Deputy position would still maintain the special responsibility for nuclear matters and remain a U.S. officer as established for the Vice-Director position. The NAC approved the proposal on January 6, 1967, to formally establish the position of Deputy Chairman of the Military Committee.

List
Since the establishment of the Deputy Chairman position in 1967, the Deputy Chairmen have been: