FOREWORD: LIEUTENANT GENERAL SIR NICK BORTON
‘CONTRIBUTING IN STRENGTH’ TO THE ALLIANCE IS VITAL
From my perspective as Commander of the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC), the restatement of the importance of NATO is hugely welcome and not before time. From 1945 to 1991 the British Army was deployed at corps level on the continent, facing the forces of the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact allies alongside our American and European NATO allies. As we reorientate to the reality of the return of great power competition in Europe, we shouldn’t be surprised that NATO’s response has significant echoes of the past. Last time, the UK corps was deployed ‘two divisions up, one back’ on the inner-German border as part of NORTHAG (the Northern Army Group), with a German corps on our left flank and a Belgian corps on the right flank, beyond which was CENTAG and the US. Today NATO is a much larger, stronger
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on 3 Mar 22, www.defense.gov, reiterated by President Biden on 13 Jun 22, www.whitehouse.gov.
1
NATO’s two main threats are defined in the 2022 Strategic Concept as Russia and terrorism. www.nato.int
2
Defence Command Paper refresh p8.
3
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THE BRITISH ARMY REVIEW
UK MOD © Crown copyright 2023
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ELCOME to the latest edition of The British Army Review, which will focus on the British Army’s contribution to our primary strategic alliance: NATO. This issue is well timed, being published just ahead of the 75th anniversary of the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty; at a time when NATO faces a renewed strategic threat; and as the British Army therefore implements a new focus on NATO, through Future Soldier and the adoption of the Land Operating Concept. These realities signal and initiate a significant change in the British Army’s relationship with NATO, including a reappraisal of readiness through a NATO lens and how we will be structured to deliver those capabilities. With NATO at the heart of the Army’s offer to Defence, this edition of The British Army Review is an excellent opportunity to expand on our commitment to NATO and the implications and opportunities for the British Army and its people.
organisation, whose eastern border is longer and much further east. Some of our continental allies are rapidly recapitalising and, through its Concept for Deterrence and Defence of the Euro-Atlantic Area, NATO has a new, robust, rehearsed and increasingly resourced plan to “defend every inch of NATO territory”1 be that from Russian incursion or terrorist groups.2 The article by Major Generals John Mead and Mark Pullan, UK officers working in key NATO roles, is a fascinating exposé of the NATO strategic planning that led to this strategic framework (pages 6-9). It highlights areas in which the UK can further develop its role within the Alliance and challenges us to consider what those next steps could be. The article by Brigadier David Bickers, Head Strategy, on the British Army and the new NATO Force Model reviews the UK’s relationship with NATO from the UK perspective (pages 12-15). It reminds us that the 2023 Defence Command Paper (Refresh) drew an explicit link between the roles of Defence in protecting the UK and
our NATO allies: “The events of the last two years have underscored the centrality of NATO to our national security... The collective security provided by NATO is our strongest bulwark against state aggression, such that the sustainment of the NATO alliance, in part through our own leadership and increased contributions, is a strategic priority for UK Defence.”3 With the UK’s geographical position at the rear of the NATO continental land mass (conscious that the maritime perspective is very different) it makes great sense that the UK has volunteered to fulfil Supreme Allied Commander Europe’s Strategic Reserve Corps role. Along with our 2* commitments to the Allied Reaction Force and Special Operations Component Command, these are exciting roles that place the UK at the heart of NATO’s enhanced deterrence, both in early stages (through the Allied Reaction Force) and (if we are forced to fight) potentially at the culminating moment as the Strategic Reserve Corps deploys to defeat the enemy and restore NATO’s territorial integrity. Of course, this started in January this year for ARRC with its SPRING 2024
