Allied Command Transformation

The Allied Command Transformation (abbr. ACT; French: Commandement allié Transformation) is a military command of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), formed in 2003 after restructuring.

Allied Command Transformation ACT CAT
Emblem
Founded	19 June 2003
Part of	North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Headquarters	Naval Support Activity Hampton Roads, Norfolk, Virginia, USA
Website	www.act.nato.int
Commanders
Supreme Allied Commander Transformation	Admiral Pierre Vandier  French Navy, since 23 September 2024
Sui generis organisation JATEC NATO-Ukraine Joint Analysis, Training, and Education Centre Also known as JATEC Founder North Atlantic Council (NAC) Founding leader ACT (with HQ SACT) Leader (first) GAA Philippe Lavigne Admiral Pierre Vandier (since SEP 23, 2024) Military leader SACT Political leader NAC, with DPPC (uk) JATEC Commander BRG Wojciech Ozga Founding directives Knowledge repository (ongoing, other wars) Organization type Sui generis jointly-run Foundation JUL 11, 2024 Dates of operation DEC 16, 2024-present Country  Poland Allegiance UKR NATO Motives Ukraine to prevail Russia to be deterred Headquarters Bydgoszcz, PL (OpCenter) Major actions War learning (military education and training) Status Multinational, active Size ~70 personnel Part of JALLC-UKR Initiative Allies Contributing countries: NATO members' forces, except: • Belgian Armed Forces •  Armed Forces of Croatia •  Luxembourg Armed Forces • Spanish Armed Forces Components of partner's military: Defence Forces of Georgia  Armed Forces of Ukraine Mission • HQs • OpCenter: EUMAM Ukraine NSATU/JFTC/JALLC Opponents (to be deterred): Armed Forces of RF  Belarus Website Official website Notes Defence Policy and Planning Committee of NATO. at the 2024 Washington NATO summit, after the 15 February 2024 approval of the NATO-Ukraine Council (NUC) The JALLC-UKR Initiative launched in 2024 is connected to the Joint Analysis and Lessons Learned Centre (JALLC, of NATO SACT), which is based in Monsanto, Lisbon, Portugal. It is a dedicated effort within JALLC focused on the Russo-Ukrainian War. JALLC-UKR Initiative Information Centre on the NATO Lessons Learned Portal, in September 2024, published a report Two Years of NATO Lessons Relating to Russia's War Against Ukraine, presenting findings from analyses between March 2022 and March 2024. The report covers command and control, joint effects, and cooperation with organizations, and it highlights the dual nature of lessons learned, including new technologies and conventional warfare aspects. It emphasizes the need for NATO to develop new technologies while maintaining traditional methods. ^[to be determined]:As of September 2025^[update], abstainers list includes non-participants in NSATU operations. Since 2022, when Belarus allowed Russia to use its territory to launch the invasion and to launch missiles into Ukraine. See: Belarusian involvement in the Russian invasion of Ukraine JATEC CCAEE Outline NATO-Ukraine Joint Analysis, Training, and Education Centre (Q130565143) (JATEC) OTAN-Ukraine centre commun d'analyse, d'entraînement et d'éducation (CCAEE, French) Об'єднаний центр аналізу, підготовки та освіти «НАТО–Україна» (ОЦАПО, Ukrainian) Center platz Founded December 16, 2024 (2024-12-16) (activated) February 17, 2025 (2025-02-17) (IOC) (expected) JAN 2026 (FOC) Allegiance NATO UKR Type NATO-Ukraine jointly run "sui generis" civil-military working level organization Role Application of lessons from Russo-Ukrainian War for strategy, policy, doctrine, tactics and operations Support to successful achievement of interoperability objectives Joint tactical level training of NATO and partner forces Size 74 personnel (incl. 20 Ukrainians) Part of ACT Ops. Center Poniatowski Barracks (pl), 1 Potockiego Str. 85-309, Bydgoszcz, PL-04, Poland Commanders Commander 1-star rank (first holder) BRG Wojciech Ozga  Poland Armed Forces DIR Program Implementation (first holder) COL Val. Vyshnivskyi Armed Forces of Ukraine Chair Senior Advisory Board (first holder) Tom Goffus, retired colonel, A-SG of NATO Ops.  United States Air Force Senior Advisory Board COL Tom Goffus, A-SG, NATO Ops. BRG Wojciech Ozga, COM JATEC BRG Serhii Boiev, Deputy MinDef UA BRG Oleh Apostol, Deputy CiC AFU Patrick Turner, Head of the NRU Polish AF representatives Footnotes by order of the North Atlantic Council Expected to be staffed by 2026 in OpCenter. With 33 personnel (IOC), JATEC is collocated with NATO's Joint Force Training Centre (JFTC), Force Integration Unit, 3rd Signal Battalion, Military Police Centre of Excellence, Communications and Information Support Centre. Ex officio JATEC SAB member. Chairman of the Board. Chaired the 25 April 2025 SAB Kyiv meeting with agenda (below): Integration of Ukrainian and NATO efforts at JATEC Building resilience in defense digital infrastructure and critical systems Strengthening military education and interoperability programs Fast-tracking innovation against current battlefield threats (notably fiber-optic drones and precision-guided munitions). NATO Representation to Ukraine. Senior NATO Representative in Ukraine since September 2024.

It was intended to lead military transformation of alliance forces and capabilities, using new concepts such as the NATO Response Force and new doctrines in order to improve the alliance's military effectiveness. When France rejoined the NATO Military Command Structure in mid-2009, a significant change took place where the Supreme Allied Commander Transformation (SACT) became a French officer. The first French officer to serve as SACT was French Air Force General Stephane Abrial (2009–2012).

ACT is organized around four principal functions: Strategic thinking; Development of capabilities; Education, training and exercises; and Co-operation and engagement. These functions are reflected in the composition of Allied Command Transformation which has its Headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia and three subordinate entities in Norway (JWC), in Poland (JFTC) and in Portugal (JALLS).

History

Allied Command Atlantic 1952 to 2003

Allied Command Transformation was preceded by Allied Command Atlantic (ACLANT) established in 1952 under the overall command of Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic (SACLANT), with its headquarters at Norfolk, Virginia. ACLANT's purpose was to guard the sea lines of communication between North America and Europe in order to reinforce the European countries of NATO with U.S. troops and supplies in the event of a Soviet/Warsaw Pact invasion of Western Europe. Following the end of the Cold War, the Command was reduced, 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. This led to ACLANT being decommissioned effective 19 June 2003, and a new Allied Command Transformation being established as its successor.

Admiral Edmund P. Giambastiani Jr. US Navy became the last SACLANT on 2 October 2002. He served as ACLANT commander until 19 Jun 2003. He then served as Supreme Allied Commander, Transformation, until 1 Aug 2005. Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope RN, the Deputy Supreme Allied Commander, then served as Acting Supreme Allied Commander until the arrival of General Lance L. Smith USAF in November 2005.

After the Cold War

At the 2002 Prague Summit, it was decided that NATO should change its military structures and concepts, and acquire new types of equipment to face the operational challenges of coalition warfare against the threats of the new century. Thus NATO's military command structure was reorganized. One strategic command, Allied Command Transformation, was focused on transforming NATO, while the other strategic command focused on NATO's operations, Allied Command Operations. Initial reports about a NATO transformation command began to appear in July 2002. ACT was formally established on June 19, 2003.

A suite of "Baseline for Rapid Iterative Transformational Experimentation" (BRITE) software was designed in response to the Maritime Situational Awareness request. This request, a product of a U.S. international and inter-agency initiatives termed "Maritime Domain Awareness", serves to counter threats to the maritime commons including terrorism, human/drug smuggling, piracy, and espionage.

Since Allied Command Atlantic became Allied Command Transformation, commanders have included non-naval officers. Gen. Lance L. Smith USAF commanded ACT from 10 Nov 2005 until 9 Nov 2007. He was succeeded by Gen. James N. Mattis USMC, who served from 9 Nov 2007 - 08 Sep 2009. A significant change was the assumption of command by a French officer, after France rejoined the NATO Command Structure in mid-2009. General Stéphane Abrial, former chief of the French Air Force assumed command in 2009. French Air Force General Jean-Paul Paloméros replaced Abrial at the end of September 2012. On 30 September 2015 French Air Force General Denis Mercier succeeded General Paloméros, in September 2018 General André Lanata succeeded General Mercier, and in 2021 General Philippe Lavigne succeeded General Lanata.

The Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Transformation position is currently^[update] filled by General Chris Badia of the German Air Force. He succeeded General Paolo Ruggiero, Italian Army, who succeeded Admiral Manfred Nielson, German Navy, who succeeded General Mirco Zuliani of the Italian Air Force, General Mieczysław Bieniek of the Polish Land Forces, Admiral Luciano Zappata (Italian Navy) and Admiral Stanhope. For several years, in a carryover from SACLANT, the Deputy's position was filled by a Royal Navy admiral. Stanhope's succession by Zappata meant an end to this practice.

Responsibilities

Allied Command Transformation's current^[when?] mission is to:

• provide the conceptual framework for the conduct of future combined joint operations;
• define how future operations will be conducted and what capabilities they will need;
• take new operational concepts, from others or self-generated, assess their viability and value, and bring them to maturity through doctrine development, scientific research, experimentation and technological development;
• implement both by persuading nations, individually and collectively, to acquire the capability, and provide the education and training, enabling concepts to be implemented by NATO forces.

A large number of conferences and seminars have been organised by the command in fulfilment of its conceptual development mission. These have included CD&E, a national Chiefs of Transformation conference, an examination of the Global Commons, Law of Armed Conflict, and a Multiple Futures project.

Structure

SHAPE

    AC

LC

MC

JFCBS

JFCNP

JFC NF

 JSEC

HQ SACT

JWC

JFTC

JALLC