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Y . — A THE N A TO COM M ANDS
‘A* T h e st r ategic area covered by the N o rth A tla n ti c
• % ~ .
T r eaty is divided in to three regional Commands —
' the A tla n tic Ocean C om m and, the European
C om m and, and the Channel Command — plus a
Regional Planning G roup fo r th e N o rth Am erican
Area. W ith in these areas, the N A TO Commanders are
responsible in peacetime
fo r the developm ent of
defence plans, the d e te rm ination
o f force requirem ents, and fo r the
tra in in g and exercise o f the forces
under th e ir Command.

C IN C H A N A N D THE C H A N N E L C O M M AN D

Under the A l lied Com m ander-in-Chief

Channel (C IN C H A N ), the A llie d Command
Channel c o vers the English Channel and the
S outhern Areas o f the N o rth Sea. The
area is subdivided in to fo u r subordinate
Commands — th e Nore, P lym o uth, Benelux
and M a ritim e A ir Commands. C IN C H AN 's mission
is to co n tro l and p ro te ct merchant shipping in the
area, co-operating w ith SACEUR in the air defence
lk o f the Channel. In emergency, the forces earmarked
to Channel Command are pre d o m in a n tly naval b u t include
m aritim e air forces.

TH E MISSION
STANDING
S T A N A V F O R C H A N has fo u r basic objectives NAVAL
To im prove effective m u lti-n a tio n a l naval team w ork by providing continuous mine counter
measures experience and tra in in g .
FORCE
T o dem onstrate the u n ity and com m on purpose o f the A lliance by showing the flags o f CHANNEL
member nations operating together in a single fo rc e .

T o be capable o f acting as an im m ediate reaction force in tim es o f crisis o r tension.

To provide the elements fo r the fo rm a tio n o f a more pow erful N A T O naval force in the area
Welcome Aboard
o f A llie d Command Channel, if required. ^

\ N o rt hw o o d

T H E BAC KG RO UN D
Inaugurated on 11 M ay, 1973, N A T O 's Standing Naval Force
Channel — S T A N A V F O R C H A N — is a permanent m u lti-n atio nal naval squadron o f mine
counter measures vessels.
F lying the N A T O flag, the squadron carries o u t a programme o f scheduled exercises,
manoeuvres and p o rt visits th ro u g h o u t the A l l ied Command Channel area.
The Channel is one o f the w o r l d's busiest shipping areas and N A T O member countries
..........
i| depend on continuous free access to its sea lanes fo r foreign trade and commerce.
In the event o f w ar or emergency, the Channel Command w o u ld be an im p o r tant life lin e
fo r the reinforcem ent o f Western Europe, but its vu ln e ra b ility to seamines stresses the
vital im portance o f mine counter measures c ra ft fo r the area.

THE SHIPS OF S T A N A V F O R C H A N
Tw o types o f ship are in the Force — minesweepers and m inehunters. B oth use d iffe re n t techniques to
counter the mine menace.
Minesweepers deal w ith buoyant mines by cu ttin g th e ir m oorings and destroying them by gunfire.Sunken mines are provoked to self-destruction by
sim ulating the magnetic and acoustic influence fields o f big ships.
M inehunters approach the task in a d iffe re n t fashion. By searching ahead w ith th e ir sonars, th e y can detect m inelike objects fo r positive
id e n tifica tio n and destruction w ith explosive charges.
Both minesweepers and m inehunters have an average com plem ent o f fo u r O fficers, six Senior Ratings and tw e n ty fo u r Ju n io r Ratings.

THE FORCE
S T A N A V F O RCHAN is composed o f between five and ten minesweeper and m inehunter ty p e ships operating continuo usly as one u n it . Ships are drawn fro m N A T O navies norm a l ly
operating in the Channel are assigned to S T A N A V F O R C H A N fo r six to tw elve m onths on a rotationa l basis. The Force Commander is selected fro m one o f the c o n trib u tin g N ATO navies
fo r a tw elve m onth to u r o f d u ty . Ship's companies perfect techniques o f operating together by constant practice between ships and by personnel exchanges w ith in the Force.
Operational comm and o f S T A N A V F O R C H A N is exercised by the A llie d Com m ander-in-Chief Channel (C IN C H A N ) fro m his Headquarters at N o rth w o o d , near London.
Belgium, Federal Repub l ic o f G erm any, N ether l ands and U .K . are regular co n trib u to rs to the Force. In a d d ition , Denm ark's, N orway's and U nited
States' ships jo in the Force fro m tim e to tim e.
 UK "H U N T" CLASS
MINE COUNTER MEASURES VESSEL

BELGIAN NAVY
OCEAN GOING M I NEHUNTER/SWEEPER

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