Allied Joint Force Command Lisbon

Joint Force Command Lisbon was one of the three main subdivisions of NATO's Allied Command Operations. It was based in Oeiras, near Lisbon, Portugal. In 2009 a French lieutenant general took command from the previous US Navy admiral who had filled the post for a number of years. It was deactivated in 2012.

History
From 1972, for many years during the Cold War, Oeiras was home to Commander-in-Chief, Iberian Atlantic (Commander Iberian Atlantic until 1982), a Portuguese-led command which was responsible to SACLANT in Norfolk, Virginia. On 1 September 1999, the CINCIBERLANT command was upgraded to CINCSOUTHLANT, a NATO Regional Command with new Terms of Reference and a greater area of responsibility. The headquarters becomes Regional Headquarters South Atlantic (RHQ SOUTHLANT).

On 12 June 2003, command authority for CINCSOUTHLANT was transferred from SACLANT to SACEUR, NATO's European command in Belgium.

0n 4 December 2006, SACEUR rewarded Joint Command Lisbon with a Campaign Pennant to recognize the operational contribution during the Pakistan Earthquake Relief Operation.

In 2009 Joint Command Lisbon was responsible for providing assistance to the African Union on request, principally as regards airlift for the mission in Darfur; preparing staff to command the NATO Response Force; mounting a sea-based Combined Joint Task Force Headquarters; and support for cooperation and dialogue under the Partnership for Peace and Mediterranean Dialogue programmes.

During the 2000s (decade), the commander was a United States Navy Vice Admiral who simultaneously held the position of Commander United States Sixth Fleet and Commander, Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO (STRIKFORNATO, the old STRIKFORSOUTH), both located in Naples, Italy.

Role
Joint Command Lisbon was responsible for:
 * The preparation of staff to command the NATO Response Force
 * Mounting a land or sea-based Combined Joint Task Force HQ.
 * Contributing to stability through cooperation and dialogue under Partnership for Peace (PfP) and Mediterranean Dialogue (MD).
 * The development of the Deployable Joint Staff Element (DJSE) concept.