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Chapter 12: The Military Command Structure The Military Structure   Allied Command Atlantic (ACLANT)     Striking Fleet Atlantic (STRIKFLTLANT) Norfolk, Virginia The Commander, Striking Fleet Atlantic (COMSTRIKFLTLANT) is the Supreme Allied Commander, Atlantic's major subordinate commander at sea. As such, his primary mission is to deter aggression by establishing and maintaining maritime superiority in the Atlantic and ensuring the integrity of NATO's sea lines of communication. COMSTRIKFLTLANT is an American three-star admiral. The composition of the Force can be tailored to manage crisis situations as they evolve, providing support to aviation forces as well as amphibious and marine forces, and directly supporting Allied Command Europe land and air operations. Forces from Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Federal Republic of Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, United Kingdom and United States contribute to the Force. STRIKFLTLANT has a potential wartime complement of three to four carrier battle groups, one or two anti-submarine task forces, an amphibious task force and approximately 22 000 Dutch, British and American marines. NATO exercises are conducted periodically to ensure the interoperability of the forces assigned to the fleet under realistic environmental conditions and to strengthen command and control procedures.