NATO Strategic Direction South Hub officially opens

U.S. Navy Admiral Howard,  commander of JFC Naples,  speaks to the crowd at the ribbon cutting ceremony marking the opening of the NSD-S Hub,  Sep. 5,  2017. (Photo by German Air Force Master Sgt. Dennis Tappe)

NAPLES, Italy – Allied Joint Force Command Naples held a ceremony on Tuesday, Sep. 5, 2017 to mark the opening of the NATO Strategic Direction South (NSD-S) Hub, a new center designed to enhance cooperation among organisations.

"Fifty years after the North Atlantic Treaty Organization opened the doors on the Brussels headquarters, the Alliance today faces a dynamic security environment,” said U.S. Navy Admiral Howard, commander of JFC Naples, to the ceremony crowd. "The change has led us to the Hub, a new facility to enhance our understanding of the Middle East and North Africa.”

The NSD-S Hub, under the roof and lead of JFC Naples, is designed to focus on a variety of current and potential issues to include destabilization, potential terrorism, radicalization, migration and environmental concerns. A role of the new center is also to coordinate and work alongside agencies outside of the NATO and national military structures as they concentrate on southern regions to include the Middle East, North Africa and Sahel, sub-Saharan Africa and adjacent areas, waters and airspace.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced the decision to create the Hub in mid-February of this year.

Hub officials say the center’s opening provides the crucial beginning step for its staff, which is developing relationships with potential partners to ensure the eventual production of useful product and analysis.

Story by JFC Naples Public Affairs Office