ABSTRACT
The command and force structure in Allied Command Europe reflects the principle of collective defense. The alternate air bases are less well equipped, less well defended, and lack protective shelter, thus rendering the enemy tactical air more vulnerable. Maintaining the full spectrum of effective deterrence and defense is beyond the political, economic, and military capabilities of even the combined resources of Western Europe. The new degree of urgency is due to the fact that the imbalances below the strategic nuclear level have a much more serious impact, and a new, more realistic perspective is possible because modern technologies can offer efficient and more cost-effective solutions. Nuclear weapons are an indispensable element of deterrence, North Atlantic Treaty Organization's deterrence rests on the close linkage of its conventional and theater nuclear forces in Europe and the strategic nuclear potential of the United States.
