NATO will shift two major military commands from United States leadership to European Allies as its members assume more responsibility for the defense of Europe.
The Joint Force Command (JFC) changes will be carried out “incrementally in the coming years in line with the existing scheduled rotation of personnel,” the Alliance said in a February 2026 news release. The United Kingdom will take over command of JFC Norfolk and Italy will do the same for Joint Force Command Naples, both of which are currently led by U.S. Navy admirals, the news release said. The European leadership of another JFC, headquartered at Brunssum in the Netherlands, will continue, but Germany and Poland will now share its command on a rotational basis. Brunssum is the JFC that “would be most responsible for any land war in Eastern Europe,” according to The New York Times newspaper.
The U.S. will retain overall charge of NATO’s military operations. The Alliance’s military leader, known as the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), has traditionally been a U.S. admiral or general who also serves as the Commander of U.S. European Command. U.S. Air Force Gen. Alexus Grynkewich is the current SACEUR. An Alliance spokesperson said the JFC changes are a transition to “more fairly shared responsibility” while emphasizing “U.S. commitment to NATO command and control,” according to The UK Defence Journal.
In December 2025, NATO integrated Denmark, Finland and Sweden into JFC Norfolk’s area of responsibility, leading Gen. Grynkewich to call it the “strategic bridge between North America and Europe.” The three nations had previously been under JFC Brunssum.
“The responsibilities of [JFC Norfolk] alone are enormous. The new British commander will have to secure the North Atlantic, and its air and maritime corridors, for the reinforcement of Europe from North America, plus the regional defense of the Northwest Atlantic. He or she will oversee the area from Greenland to Finland, down to Denmark and all the Nordic states,” according to a report from the Center for European Policy Analysis.
Under the NATO restructuring, the U.S. will assume charge of Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM), which is headquartered in the U.K., giving it control of the Alliance’s core capabilities along with MARCOM’s land and air counterparts, according to the news release.
These moves will strengthen the Alliance, according to U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker. “The United States is not receding or going away,” Whitaker said, according to the Times. “But we do need to make sure that the critical capabilities are … enhanced and by our European Allies.”