The North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Military Committee ( MC) is the body that is composed of member states' chiefs of defence (CHOD). These national CHODs are regularly represented in the MC by their permanent Military Representatives (MilRep), who often are officers of the rank of general and admiral. Like the Council, from time to time the Military Committee also meets at a higher level, namely at the level of Chiefs of Defence, the most senior military officer in each nation's armed forces.
Role
The MC assists and advises the North Atlantic Council (NAC), Defence Planning Committee (DPC), and Nuclear Planning Group (NPG) on military matters including policy and strategy.NATO Handbook, 50th Anniversary Edition, 1998-99, 234. Its principal role is to provide direction and advice on military policy and strategy. It provides guidance on military matters to the Supreme Allied Commanders of Allied Command Operations and Allied Command Transformation, whose representatives attend its meetings, and is responsible for the overall conduct of the military affairs of the Alliance under the authority of the Council. The executive body of the MC is the International Military Staff (IMS).International Military Staff, Jun 15, 2017, retrieved Feb 20, 2018.
Current NATO Chiefs of Defence
CountryCHODMilitary BranchTook OfficeAlbania
Member sinceLieutenant General Arben Kingji
Chief of the General StaffLand ForcesBelgium
Member sinceGeneral Frederik Vansina
Chief of DefenceAir ForceBulgaria
Member sinceAdmiral Emil Eftimov
Chief of DefenceNavyCanada
Member sinceGeneral Jennie Carignan
Chief of the Defence StaffArmyCroatia
Member sinceColonel General Tihomir Kundid
Chief of the General StaffArmyCzech Republic
Member sinceLieutenant General Miroslav Hlavac
Chief of the General StaffLand ForcesDenmark
Member sinceGeneral Michael Hyldgaard
Chief of DefenceRoyal ArmyEstonia
Member sinceLieutenant General Andrus Merilo
Commander of the Defence ForcesLand ForcesFinland
Member sinceGeneral Janne Jaakkola
Chief of DefenceArmyFrance
Member sinceGeneral Fabien Mandon
Chief of the Defence StaffAir and Space ForceGermany
Member sinceGeneral Carsten Breuer
Inspector General of the BundeswehrArmyGreece
Member sinceGeneral Dimitrios Choupis
Chief of the National Defence General StaffArmyHungary
Member sinceColonel General Sándor Zsolt
Chief of the General StaffGround Forces1 June 2026Iceland
Member sinceJónas G. Allansson
Director of the Security and Defence DepartmentItaly
Member sinceGeneral Luciano Portolano
Chief of the Defence StaffArmyLatvia
Member sinceMajor General Kaspars Pudāns
Commander of the Joint HeadquartersNational GuardLithuania
Member sinceGeneral Raimundas Vaikšnoras
Chief of DefenceLand ForcesLuxembourg
Member sinceGeneral Steve Thull
Chief of DefenceArmyMontenegro
Member sinceBrigadier General Miodrag Vuksanović
Chief of the General StaffGround ArmyNetherlands
Member sinceGeneral Onno Eichelsheim
Chief of DefenceRoyal Air and Space ForceNorth Macedonia
Member sinceMajor General Saško Lafčiski
Chief of the General StaffGround ForcesNorway
Member sinceGeneral Eirik Kristoffersen
Chief of DefenceArmyPoland
Member sinceGeneral Wiesław Kukuła
Chief of the General StaffTerritorial Defence ForcePortugal
Member sinceGeneral João Cartaxo Alves
Chief of the General StaffArmyRomania
Member sinceGeneral Gheorghiță Vlad
Chief of the General StaffLand ForcesSlovakiaGeneral Miroslav Lorinc
Chief of the General StaffAir ForceSloveniaMajor General Boštjan Močnik
Chief of the General StaffGround Force15 December 2025Spain
Member sinceAdmiral General Teodoro Esteban López Calderón
Chief of the Defence StaffNavySweden
Member sinceGeneral Michael Claesson
Chief of DefenceArmyTurkey
Member sinceGeneral Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu
Chief of the General StaffLand ForcesUnited Kingdom
Member sinceAir Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton
Chief of the Defence StaffRoyal Air ForceUnited States
Member sinceGeneral Dan Caine
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of StaffAir Force Source
History Until 2008 the Military Committee excluded France, due to that country's 1966 decision to remove itself from NATO's integrated military structure, which it rejoined in 1995. Until France rejoined NATO, it was not represented on the Defence Planning Committee, and this led to conflicts between it and NATO members. Such was the case in the lead up to Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Established in 1949 during the first Council session in Washington, the Military Committee is NATO's highest military authority and advises the NAC and NATO's strategic commanders, the Supreme Allied Commander Transformation and the Supreme Allied Commander Europe.https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_49633.htm, NATO Military Committee, Dec 7, 2017, retrieved Feb 15, 2018.
See also Structure of NATO International Military Staff Chairman of the NATO Military Committee European Union Military Committee
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