Standing NATO Maritime Group One (SNMG1) is one of NATO's standing maritime Immediate Reaction Forces. Prior to 1 January 2005 it was known as Standing Naval Force Atlantic (STANAVFORLANT). The group was also briefly called the Standing NATO Response Force Maritime Group One.
SNMG1 consists of 4 to 6 destroyers and frigates, with the Royal Canadian Navy, the Deutsche Marine (German Navy), the Koninklijke Marine (Royal Netherlands Navy), the Royal Navy (UK), and the United States Navy each contributing 1 ship on a permanent basis. These are joined periodically by ships from Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Poland, Portugal, and Spain. The force operates, trains and exercises as a group, providing day-to-day verification of current NATO maritime procedures, tactics and effectiveness.
Ships are usually attached to the force for up to six months, on a rotating basis. Units of one nation do not necessarily relieve ships of the same nation. The force commander and the staff are appointed for one year, with the force commander rotating among the participating nations. Since January 25, 2010, the force is under the command of Commodore Christian Rune flying his flag in the Danish Flexible Command Ship HDMS Esbern Snare (L17).
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The ships currently[update] in the force are:[1]
In peacetime, the force exercises primarily in the eastern Atlantic. Allied Command Operations (ACO) has operational command of the force, and the Commander Allied Maritime Component Command Northwood administers the force while in the Eastern Atlantic. ACO delegates operational control to the area commander where the force is operating.
SNMG1 is a component of the NATO Response Force (NRF).
Established in January 1968, STANAVFORLANT was under the operational control of Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic until that command was decommissioned in 2003. Due to the resulting NATO realignment, STANAVFORLANT fell under the operational control of ACO.
In September 2007, SNMG1 was in the Red Sea bound for Suez to complete a circumnavigation of Africa when the Jabal al-Tair volcano erupted. SNMG1 ships assisted the Yemeni coast guard in the recovery of their military personnel stationed on the island. [1]
Since 2009, SNMG1 has been operational in the Gulf of Aden supporting NATO's Operation Ocean Shield, anti-piracy mission.[3]