Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic

The Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic (SACLANT) was one of two supreme commanders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), the other being the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR). The SACLANT led Allied Command Atlantic, based at Norfolk, Virginia. The entire command was routinely referred to as 'SACLANT'.

The command's missions were:
 * Safeguard NATO’s sea lines of communications (SLOC)
 * Support amphibious and land operations
 * Protect the deployment of NATO’s sea-based nuclear deterrence

The command's area of responsibility extended from the North Pole to the Tropic of Cancer as well as extending from the east coast of the North America to the west coast of Africa and Europe, including Portugal but not the English Channel, the British Isles, and the Canary Islands.

History
Soon after its formation, ACLANT together with Allied Command Europe carried out the large exercise Exercise Mainbrace, Throughout the Cold War years, SACLANT carried out many other exercises, such as Operation Mariner in 1953 and Operation Strikeback in 1957, as well as the Northern Wedding and Ocean Safari series of naval exercises during the 1970s and 1980s. The command also played a critical role in the annual Exercise REFORGER from the 1970s onwards. Following the end of the Cold War, the Command was reduced in status and size, with many of its subordinate headquarters spread across the Atlantic area losing their NATO status and funding. However, the basic structure remained in place until the Prague Summit in the Czech Republic in 2002.

Carrier-based air strike operations in the Norwegian Sea pioneered by Operation Strikeback became the cornerstone of the forward defense of NATO's northern flank as set forth in the U.S. Navy's Maritime Strategy. The Maritime Strategy was published in 1984, championed by Secretary of the Navy John Lehman and Chief of Naval Operations Admiral James D. Watkins, USN, during the Reagan Administration, and practiced in NATO naval exercises such as Ocean Safari '85 and Northern Wedding '86.

In a 2008 article, retired General Bernard E. Trainor, USMC, noted the success of this maritime strategy:

"By going on the immediate offensive in the high north and putting the Soviets on the defensive in their home waters, the Maritime Strategy not only served to defend Scandinavia, but also served to mitigate the SLOC problem. The likelihood of timely reinforcement of NATO from the United States was now more than a pious hope."

"With the emergence of an offensive strategy in the 1980s, a change in mindset was energized by concurrent dramatic advances in American technology, especially in C4ISR and weapon systems, that were rapidly offsetting Soviet numerical and material superiority in Europe. No lesser light than the USSR Chief of the General Staff, Marshal Nikolai Ogarkov warned that American superiority was shifting the "correlation of forces" in NATO's favor. He called the phenomenon a "military technological revolution." By the end of the decade the military threat from the Soviet Union was consigned to the dust bin of history and with it, the Cold War."

The U.S. Navy's Forward Maritime Strategy provided the strategic rationale for the 600-ship Navy program.

Allied Command Atlantic was decommissioned effective 19 June 2003, and a new Allied Command Transformation (ACT) was established as its successor. This new NATO command is headed by the Supreme Allied Commander Transformation (SACT), up to 2009 an American four-star admiral or general who is dual-hatted as commander, United States Joint Forces Command (COMUSJFCOM), with SACLANT's former military missions folded into NATO's Allied Command Operations (ACO).

Structure
The high command of ACLANT comprised the following positions:


 * Supreme Allied Commander (SACLANT) - SACLANT was responsible for all Alliance military missions within the ACLANT area of responsibility. SACLANT was an American admiral or general who also serves as the Commander-in-Chief U.S. Atlantic Command, one of the Department of Defense unified combatant commands.
 * Deputy Supreme Allied Commander (DSACLANT) - The principal deputy to SACLANT held by a British admiral. DSACLANT was originally the commander of the Royal Navy's North America and West Indies Station.
 * Chief of Staff (COFS) - Directs the SACLANT headquarters staff

SACLANT headquarters was located in Norfolk, Virginia, adjacent to the U.S. Atlantic Fleet headquarters.

Allied Command Eastern Atlantic (EASTLANT)
The Commander-in-Chief Eastern Atlantic (CINCEASTLANT) was responsible for the administration and operation of the Standing Naval Force Atlantic (STANAVFORLANT), on behalf of the Supreme Allied Commander, Atlantic (SACLANT). CINCEASTLANT was a British four-star admiral based at Northwood, United Kingdom who also served as the Commander in Chief of the Home Fleet (subsequently CINC Western Fleet, and later CINCFLEET).

EASTLANT was orgazined in the following sub-areas:


 * Maritime Air Eastern Atlantic
 * Northern Sub-Area
 * Maritime Air Northern Sub-Area
 * Central Sub-Area
 * Maritime Air Central Sub-Area
 * Submarine Force Eastern Atlantic
 * Island Commander Iceland
 * Island Commander Faeroes

Allied Command Western Atlantic (WESTLANT)
The Commander-in-Chief Western Atlantic (CINCWESTLANT) was responsible for:


 * The safe transit of critical reinforcement and re-supply from North America to Europe, in support of the full spectrum of NATO forces operating anywhere in or beyond NATO's area of responsibility
 * The sponsorship of peacetime joint multinational exercises and Partnership for Peace (PfP) activities, as well as maintaining operational control and providing support for NATO forces assigned to the headquarters

CINCWESTLANT was an American four-star admiral based in Norfolk, Virginia who also serves of the Commander-in-Chief U.S. Atlantic Fleet (CINCLANTFLT). Through 1994, WESTLANT was orgazined in the following sub-areas:


 * Submarine Force Western Atlantic
 * Ocean Sub-Area
 * Canadian Atlantic Sub-Area
 * Island Commander Bermuda
 * Island Commander Azores

From 1994 through 2003, WESTLANT was organized as follows:


 * SubWestLant
 * Ocean Sub-Area
 * Canadian Atlantic Sub-Area
 * Greenland Island Commander

Allied Command Southern Atlantic (SOUTHLANT)
The Commander-in-Chief Southern Atlantic (CINCSOUTHLANT) was responsible for military movements and maritime operations across the southeast boundary between the Allied Command European (ACE) and Allied Command Atlantic (ACLANT). CINCSOUTHLANT was a Portuguese three-star admiral based in Lisbon, Portugal, and was formerly known as Commander-in-Chief Iberian Atlantic Area (CINCIBERLANT) prior to the standing up of SOUTHLANT. The command is now Joint Command Lisbon.

Striking Fleet Atlantic
The Commander Striking Fleet Atlantic (COMSTRIKFLTLANT) was the major subordinate at-sea commander for SACLANT. The primary mission of Striking Fleet Atlantic was to deter aggression by maintaining maritime superiority in the Atlantic AOR and ensuring the integrity of NATO's sea lines of communications. Its main striking force was the Carrier Striking Force (seemingly Task Force 401), consisting of Carrier Striking Groups One and Two. The Carrier Striking Force appears to have had an American nucleus, built around Carrier Group Four, and Carrier Striking Group Two appears to have had a British nucleus, later, it seems, becoming Anti-Submarine Group Two. When HMS Ark Royal took part in Exercise Royal Knight circa 1972, she formed the centrepiece of Striking Group Two and led Task Group 401.2.

The Striking Fleet's Commander was an U.S. Navy Vice Admiral based at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia who also served as the Commander U.S. Second Fleet. STRIKFLTLANT was deactivated in a ceremony to be held on USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7) on June 24, 2005, being replaced by Combined Joint Operations from the Sea Center of Excellence located at the Second Fleet headquarters.

Submarine Allied Command Atlantic (SUBACLANT)
The Commander Submarine Allied Command Atlantic (COMSUBACLANT) was the principal adviser to the SACLANT on submarine matters and undersea warfare. COMSUBACLANT was an American three-star admiral based in Norfolk, Virginia, who also served as the Commander Submarine Force Atlantic Fleet (COMSUBLANT). Under SUBACLANT were Commander, Submarines, Western Atlantic Area (COMSUBWESTLANT) and Commander, Submarines, Eastern Atlantic Area (COMSUBEASTLANT). COMSUBEASTLANT's national appointment was the Royal Navy post of Flag Officer Submarines. Flag Officer Submarines moved in 1978 from HMS Dolphin at Gosport to the Northwood Headquarters in northwest London.

Standing Naval Force Atlantic (STANAVFORLANT)
The Standing Naval Force Atlantic (STANAVFORLANT) was a permanent peacetime multinational naval squadron composed of destroyers, cruisers and frigates from the navies of various NATO nations. Since its creation in 1967, STANAVFORLANT operated, trained, and exercised as a group, providing day-to-day verification of current NATO maritime procedures, tactics and effectiveness, as well as participated in NATO and national naval exercises designed to promote readiness and interoperability STANAVFORLANT was renamed Standing NRF Maritime Group 1 on 1 January 2005.

List of Deputy Supreme Allied Commanders Atlantic
His Second-in-Command was the Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic: