NATO has integrated Denmark, Finland and Sweden under Joint Force Command (JFC) Norfolk, the Alliance’s only operational headquarters in the United States.
The three Nordic nations had operated under the responsibility of JFC Brunssum in the Netherlands, which mainly focuses on the defense of NATO’s eastern-flank members, according to Stars and Stripes newspaper. JFC Norfolk, which is based in Virginia in the U.S., also has Iceland, Norway and the United Kingdom in its area of responsibility (AOR) as well as the Atlantic.
The December 2025 reorganization demonstrates NATO “prioritizing operations in the North Atlantic and Arctic, both of which have seen an increase in Russian military activity in recent years,” according to Stars and Stripes.
“With the alignment of our adversaries around the globe, it is imperative we strengthen the
Euro-Atlantic area as much as possible and reinforce our posture in the High North,” U.S. Air Force Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, U.S. European Command Commander and Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), said in a NATO news release. Gen. Grynkewich, as the SACEUR, leads NATO’s military operations.
“In terms of NATO’s joint force commands, Norfolk is the strategic bridge between North America and Europe,” Gen. Grynkewich said. “This realignment, which integrates as a whole the Nordic nations, including NATO’s two newest members, Sweden and Finland, under Joint Force Command Norfolk’s leadership, does exactly that.”
It is important for such strategic alignments to evolve along with the threats facing the Alliance, according to military leaders. “It is always crucial to emphasize cooperation across all domains and regions, as threats do not respect geographical boundaries,” Gen. Janne Jaakkola, Finland’s defense chief, said in the news release.
JFC Norfolk, as a key NATO command, deters threats and enhances security in its AOR. Its mission also includes the protection of Atlantic maritime routes stretching from Florida to the North Pole as well as undersea cables crucial for commerce and communications between Europe and North America. JFC Norfolk was reconstituted in 2019 amid concerns about a more assertive Moscow and its potential to disrupt allied efforts to cross the Atlantic during a crisis, according to Stars and Stripes. The command became fully operational in 2021 and operates in close cooperation with the U.S. Navy’s 2nd Fleet, which is also based in Norfolk.
Experts say that cooperation between members of the 32-member Alliance is an example of NATO’s strength and enduring relevance.
“One of the Alliance’s big achievements over the last 76 years has been not just succeeding in deterring external threats or in preventing internal conflict but maintaining the cohesion within the Alliance to last that long,” Richard Maass, a professor of political science at Old Dominion University, told the Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism in July 2025.