The Deputy Chair of the NATO Military Committee ( DCMC) is the deputy head of the NATO Military Committee. Originally titled as the Deputy Chairman, the post was redesignated in 2021 to reflect the gender-neutrality of the post.
The current Deputy Chair of the NATO Military Committee is U.S. Army Lieutenant General Winston P. Brooks Jr.. He is the 25th Deputy Chair and took office on October 13, 2025.
Role The DCMC assists the Chair, advises the Deputy Secretary Generalhttps://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/who_is_who_62218.htm, NATO Deputy Secretary General, Feb 14, 2012, retrieved Feb 15, 2018. and serves as the principal agent for coordination of nuclear, biological, and chemical matters for the Military Committee.https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_69471.htm, Deputy Chairman of the Military Committee (DCMC), Jan 19, 2016, retrieved Feb 15, 2018. Finally, in the Chair's absence, the Deputy Chair directs the daily operations and business of the Military Committee, NATO's highest military authority.https://www.nato.int/nato_static_fl2014/assets/pdf/pdf_publications/20170213_2016-nato-encyclopedia-eng.pdf, NATO Encyclopedia, 2016, p. 338, retrieved Feb 15, 2018.https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_49152.htm,NATO: Chairman of the Military Committee, Dec 7, 2017, retrieved Feb 15, 2018
The Deputy Chair, always a US general or flag officer, serves the Alliance's Transatlantic bond. The position has access to U.S. nuclear information and a relationship with NATO's other member states, which allows the holder to provide military advice, especially pertaining to nuclear matters.Douglas S. Bland, 'The Military Committee of the North Atlantic Alliance: A Study of Structure and Strategy,' New York, Praeger, 1991, p. 182. While being a U.S. officer, the individual serves in an international capacity to represent the interests of the Alliance.
History A Chairman position was initially established without a Deputy, but as the command structure evolved and the demands on the Chairman increased, the need for a Deputy became obvious.
The Deputy's origins come from within the structure of the International Military Staffhttps://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_64557.htm?, NATO International Military Staff, Jun 15, 2017, retrieved Feb 15, 2018. (IMS) as the 1963 Military Committee reforms provided the Director of the IMS a vice-director who held "special responsibilities for nuclear matters."Douglas S. Bland, 'The Military Committee of the North Atlantic Alliance: A Study of Structure and Strategy,' New York, Praeger, 1991, p. 181. This office was always an American to link the United States and NATO in nuclear strategy. Two dynamics served as the catalyst to establish the Deputy Chairman position on the Military Committee as it reflects today: 1. When the Chairman was away from Brussels, using a Military Representative within the Military Committee as a substitute proved unviable due to the conflict of simultaneously representing the interests of the Military Committee at large and one's own national interests and 2. the Military Committee did not want to create additional high-ranking officer positions to resolve the first issue. As a solution, the Military Committee elected to eliminate the Vice Director of the IMS position and simultaneously establish a new post of Deputy Chairman of the Military Committee. The Deputy position would still maintain the special responsibility for nuclear matters and remain a U.S. officer as established for the Vice-Director position. The NAC approved the proposal on January 6, 1967, to formally establish the position of Deputy Chairman of the Military Committee.
List Since the establishment of the Deputy Chairman position in 1967, there have been 9 from the Air Force, 5 from the Army, 4 from the Navy, and 2 from the Marine Corps. The deputy chairmen have been:https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_69471.htm, NATO, Jan 10, 2016, retrieved Feb 15, 2018.
See also Chairman of the NATO Military Committee NATO Military Committee Chairman of the European Union Military Committee International Military Staff Supreme Allied Commander Europe
References
Further reading Douglas S. Bland, 'The Military Committee of the North Atlantic Alliance: A Study of Structure and Strategy,' New York, Praeger, 1991.