The United States is set to hand over leadership of two major NATO operational headquarters to European officers, in a move that would alter a long-standing pattern of American command at senior levels of the Alliance.

According to a military source cited by Reuters, European commanders will replace US admirals at Allied Joint Force Command (JFC) Naples in Italy and Joint Force Command Norfolk in the United States, when the current postings end.

JFC Naples, based at Lago Patria near Naples, is one of NATO’s operational-level headquarters under Allied Command Operations (ACO) and is tasked with preparing for, planning and conducting military operations across NATO’s area of responsibility and beyond. The command has also been closely associated with NATO activity on the Alliance’s southern flank, including the Western Balkans. NATO’s SHAPE headquarters, near Mons in Belgium, is responsible for planning and executing NATO operations under the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR).

JFC Norfolk, reactivated as part of NATO’s adaptation after 2018, is oriented towards the North Atlantic, with a stated purpose of helping to keep the sea lines of communication between North America and Europe “free and secure”. The headquarters has also recently been given a broader role in NATO’s northern geography. In December 2025, Reuters reported that NATO reorganised its command arrangements so that all Nordic countries would fall under Norfolk’s oversight, reflecting the Alliance’s focus on reinforcement routes and the High North.

The reported change fits with President Donald Trump’s public demand that European allies assume greater responsibility for their own security. His administration has pressed for what it described as a “European-led NATO”, arguing that an Alliance long dominated by the United States should adjust its internal balance.

However, the same Reuters report said the United States would simultaneously take charge of three commands that sit lower in the formal hierarchy but carry significant operational responsibilities: Allied Air Command, Allied Maritime Command, and Allied Land Command. NATO describes these as service-specific “tactical” or “component” commands, based respectively at Ramstein in Germany, Northwood in the United Kingdom, and Izmir in Turkey, providing specialist support to the joint headquarters and reporting to SHAPE under SACEUR.

A NATO official, responding to questions about the planned redistribution, said Allies had agreed a “new distribution of responsibilities for senior officers” within NATO’s command structure, adding that European Allies — including NATO’s newest members — would play a more prominent role in the Alliance’s military leadership. The official characterised the decision as linked to plannding for future rotations, and said further detail would be provided in due course.

The move follows earlier media reports that the United States intended to reduce staffing in parts of NATO’s command network. In January 2026, reports said Washington planned to cut roughly 200 NATO posts by leaving some vacancies unfilled across several commands, including the NATO Intelligence Fusion Centre in the United Kingdom, Allied Special Operations Forces Command in Brussels, and STRIKFORNATO in Portugal.

US to cut about 200 NATO posts in command centres, officials say

The leadership shift at the two joint force commands would be symbolically significant because both posts have been held by US officers. NATO’s own public pages list the commanders as US Navy flag officers at both headquarters. For NATO, the operational-level joint commands form the hubs through which SHAPE can plan and run complex missions, contingency planning, and reinforcement operations.

The near-term operational impact is likely to depend on how responsibilities are apportioned in practice, how deputy roles are distributed, and whether additional staffing adjustments follow. NATO’s command structure is built around multinational staffing regardless of who holds the top post, and changes of commander are routinely framed as part of established rotation patterns.

For European governments, the change is likely to be read alongside wider questions about the US role in European security and NATO’s internal burden-sharing arrangements. For Washington, retaining command of the air, maritime and land component headquarters preserves direct American leadership over three key operational domains even as Europeans move into the top roles at two joint headquarters.