ABSTRACT
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) today is a strategic security and defense hub designed to project military and partnership power worldwide and stabilize Europe's security periphery. The secretary-general is supported by a Private Office, a deputy secretary-general and seven assistant secretaries-general, the NATO Office of Resources and the NATO Office of Security. The NATO Response Force (NRF) sits alongside nine Graduated Readiness Force headquarters, all of which are under national command, apart from Eurocorps. At the NATO Wales Summit Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) was firmly embedded as an arms control mechanism built on firm but legitimate defense. NATO remains the indispensable military interoperability mechanism between the armed forces of Europe and North America. At the NATO Wales Summit particular emphasis was placed on expanding the Alliance Maritime Strategy and the reinvigoration of NATO's Standing Naval Forces as an integral pillar of collective defense and the protection of the global commons.
