SHAPE, Belgium - At the meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers on April 2nd, the North Atlantic Council directed General Tod D. Wolters to coordinate the necessary military support to combat the coronavirus crisis.
As the Supreme Allied Commander Europe, General Wolters is the top military commander for Allied Command Operations and leads the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, a strategic planning military headquarters located near Mons, Belgium.
General Wolters designated Lieutenant General Olivier Rittimann as the head of the Allied Command Operations Task Force to combat coronavirus. Lieutenant General Rittimann, a French Army officer with more than 35 years of military service, currently serves at the Vice Chief of Staff of Allied Command Operations.
“The men and women of Allied Command Operations focus day in and day out on deterrence and defense of the Euro-Atlantic Area. We will further leverage our expertise, and our command and control capabilities to facilitate efforts in the fight against COVID-19, delivering results for NATO Allies,” said Wolters.
“As part of NATO’s work to strengthen resilience, Allied Command Operations (ACO) has worked with our Allies for a generation to enhance preparedness for all eventualities. We are now applying these capabilities throughout the Alliance during the coronavirus pandemic,” said Rittimann.
Allied Command Operations is one of NATO’s two strategic commands. Its primary task is to preserve peace and deliver security and defense for the nearly one billion people in NATO nations. It routinely conducts strategic level, multi-national planning and coordination of whole of government approaches to solving crises.