ABSTRACT
A 1959 report on the ‘state of European security’ put out by the Assembly of the Western European Union noted that naval forces would play a role in all contingencies, from nuclear war to limited war. In view of the growing nuclear parity between the Soviet Union and the United States, the report stated that emphasis should be placed upon conventional capabilities and command structures which would enable North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to keep the sea lanes open by providing sufficient protection from Soviet submarines. With the establishment of its maritime command structures and the development and earmarking of nuclear and conventional maritime forces to those commands, NATO had quickly become a maritime alliance. Seapower was a part of the allied deterrent posture. With the allied posture moving unevenly and haltingly toward flexible response, the flexible posture adopted by NATO’s maritime forces in the Cold War would come to be looked upon as a necessity.
