Alliance’s presence is expected to grow in Hampton Roads despite Republican criticism over allies' military spending
NORFOLK - NATO’s footprint in Hampton Roads is expected to expand in the coming years, despite President Donald Trump’s criticism of member nations' military spending levels.
The two major NATO commands in Norfolk – Supreme Allied Commander Transformation and the more recently established Joint Force Command – have played a key role in bolstering the alliance’s strength against Russian aggression.
The Joint Force Command in Norfolk, established in 2019, has grown from 100 to 250 personnel this year and could double its force tomorrow if its building at the Norfolk Naval Station had the space, Vice Adm. James Morley told VCIJ.
The command unveiled plans in June for new quarters in Norfolk, and has plans for another, larger new operations headquarters. “It's a significant investment in the Hampton Roads area, in terms of people, and in terms of the infrastructure that will follow,” said Morley, a British naval officer serving as deputy commander of NATO Joint Force Command.
The Transformation Command has stepped up planning, strategy and coordination with allies in response to new tactics emerging in the war in Ukraine.
NATO – the North Atlantic Treaty Organization – was established after World War II, with nations from Europe and North America agreeing to protect one another from outside aggression. It now has 32 members.
The NATO expansion in Hampton Roads comes even as Trump and members of his administration have criticized alliance partners for not investing enough in their militaries. The president publicly mused about the U.S. leaving the alliance.
But at the NATO summit last month in The Hague, Trump praised the alliance and commitments from member nations to increase military spending.
Richard Maass, an associate professor of political science at Old Dominion University, said NATO has weathered numerous political shifts and changes in priorities. For example, President John F. Kennedy also criticized member nations for failing to boost military spending.
The emergence of Russian aggression has refocused the peacetime alliance on its military mission, he said.
“NATO is as relevant now as it's ever been,” said Maass, a member of the World Affairs Council of Hampton Roads. “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.”
Norfolk’s two NATO commands report to the Brussels-based Supreme Allied Command Europe.
Joint Force Command is responsible for overseeing 80% of NATO's area – from Florida to Finnmark, ranging from the seabed to space. It focuses on the defense of North America and Europe.
Morley expects the multinational force to reach 600 personnel eventually. Finding space for the staff is “a good problem to have,” he said.
Contributions from member nations will fund the new headquarters and operations center in Norfolk, he said. U.S. budget cuts are not expected to delay progress.
“Our role here this year is to build this headquarters,” Morley said. The new facility would include a secure joint operation center, allowing for military brass to present the complex picture of the force’s vast geographic responsibilities, he said.
Being positioned in Norfolk, next to the headquarters of the U.S. Navy Second Fleet and the world’s largest naval base, has great value, he said.
The NATO Transformation Command mission encompasses innovation, long-term planning and training to ensure a unified and capable multinational force. That command, established in 2002, has 750 active-duty and civilian personnel headquartered in Norfolk.
“We are the Big Think Tank,” said Gen. Chris Badia, deputy commander of Supreme Allied Commander Transformation. “We are running the strategy. We are running the concepts.”
The tactics and strategies in the war in Ukraine have brought great focus to cyber, space and unmanned systems, said Badia, a German Air Force officer. In February, the transformation command established a training and analysis center in Poland to support Ukrainian efforts. The center is expected to bring lessons learned from the Russian invasion to NATO nations and aid Ukrainian warfighters in defending their country. Ukraine is not a member of NATO but is closely aligned with the organization.
The June summit in The Hague brought promises that member states would reach goals of 5% of their GDP for military and civilian resilience and infrastructure projects. Those projects would support military operations, improve cybersecurity and enhance emergency health care.
Being resilient and serving as a deterrent is not just a military task, Badia said. “You know, there is this saying, the army might win the battle, but the nation wins the war.”
Reach Louis Hansen at louis.hansen@vcij.org
