ALLIED LAND FORCES SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE LANDSOUTHEAST FACT SHEET click here for Turkish

STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE

Turkey's strategic position places it on the strategically vital Southeastern Region of NATO. The nation stands astride the natural and historic routes between Europe and Asia and guards the European land approaches to the Eastern Mediterranean. The Turkish Straits divide Turkish land mass on European soil from the nation's land mass on the Asian soil. These straits serve as a valve that could be closed to interrupt passage between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. Seizure of the straits by an unfriendly power, would split Turkey, deny passage between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, and could threaten or disrupt allied lines of communication through the Mediterranean. This could have grave ramifications for NATO and is a primary reason that LANDSOUTHEAST has the important task of maintaining this region in the event of a crisis.

ORGANIZATION

Established on 8 September 1952, LANDSOUTHEAST is a NATO principal subordinate command (PSC). The Commander is responsible to the Commander-In-Chief, Allied Forces Southern Europe (AFSOUTH), Naples, Italy, for overall conduct and coordination of NATO military operations. Headquarters LANDSOUTHEAST is comparable to the headquarters of an army group.

LANDSOUTHEAST is commanded by a Turkish Army General (CLSE), assisted by an American Major General as Deputy (DCLSE), and a Turkish Major General as Chief of Staff (COS,LSE). To assist the Chief of Staff in coordinating the staff activities two deputy chiefs of staff are assigned. The Deputy for Plans and Operations (DCOS, P&O), a Turkish Brigadier General, coordinates plans, operations, intelligence and communications and information systems activities while the Deputy for Logistics and Administration (DCOS, L&A), a Turkish colonel, coordinates personnel, administration and logistic activities. Keeping the tradition of NATO as an international organization, LANDSOUTHEAST is staffed by Turkish, American, British, Italian, German personnel and a French Liaison Officer. Communications support for LANDSOUTHEAST is provided by the Joint Signal Group (JSG); housekeeping and security is provided by Headquarters Command. Headquarters LANDSOUTHEAST is located in the General Vecihi AKIN?Garrison at Sirinyer, Izmir.

MISSION

The LSE Mission is to take part in peace keeping operations that it may be assigned to conduct within the NATO Chain of Command; to participate in crisis management to deter threats that may be directed against NATO countries and in particular against the LSE Area of Responsibility; and to contribute to military measures with NATO forces placed under its command or to effectively implement these measures. In the event aggression occurs despite all deterrent measures, LSE's mission is to defend its Area of Responsibility.

FORCES

To fulfill his mission, COMLANDSOUTHEAST will have three Turkish field armies and the NATO Reinforcements which include immediate reaction, rapid reaction and augmentation forces to deploy to the LANDSOUTHEAST area of responsibility in the event of a crisis which may threaten NATO's territorial integrity.

Supporting COMLANDSOUTHEAST in his efforts is the Sixth Allied Tactical Air Force (SIXATAF) which shares a wing of offices in the newly built collocated headquarters. SIXATAF has an air mission analogous to the ground mission of LANDSOUTHEAST. Also located on the same garrison are permanent representatives from the Allied Naval Forces Southern Europe (NAVSOUTH) and the Naval Striking and Support Forces Southern Europe (STRIKFORSOUTH). In times of crisis, they will liaise closely with COMLANDSOUTHEAST?and COMSIXATAF, report the developing land and air operations in the area to their respective commands and coordinate maritime operations of the joint campaign.

STRATEJIK ?NEMI

T?rkiye, cografi konumu itibariyle NATO'nun stratejik y?nden hayati ?nem tasiyan G?neydogu B?lgesinde yer almaktadir. ?lke, Avrupa ile Asya arasindaki dogal ve tarihi g?zergahlarin birlestigi bir noktada olup, Avrupa'dan Dogu Akdeniz'e uzanan kara yaklasma istikametlerini korumaya uygun bir konumdadir. Bogazlar, T?rkiye'nin Asya ve Avrupa yakalarini birbirinden ayirip Karadeniz ile Akdeniz arasinda ge?isi engellemek i?in kapatilabilecek bir supap g?revi yapmaktadir. Bogazlarin dost olmayan bir g?c?n eline ge?mesi T?rkiye'yi ikiye b?l?p, Akdeniz ile Karadeniz arasindaki ge?is hatti ?zerindeki kontroluna son verecek ve bunun sonucunda m?ttefiklerin Akdeniz'den ge?en ulastirma hatlari ciddi bir tehditle karsilasabilecek veya sekteye ugrayabilecektir. B?yle bir durum NATO i?in vahim sonu?lar doguracagindan, G?neydogu Avrupa M?ttefik Kara Kuvvetleri Komutanligi, bir buhran sirasinda bu b?lgeyi korumak gibi ?ok ?nemli bir g?rev y?klenmistir.

TESKILATI

LANDSOUTHEAST (NATO G?neydogu Avrupa M?ttefik Kara Kuvvetleri) Karargahi NATO'nun Baslica Ast Komutanliklarindan biri olup, 8 Eyl?l 1952 tarihinde Izmir'de tesis edilmistir. LANDSOUTHEAST Komutani, NATO'nun askeri harekatinin sevk ve idaresi ve koordinasyonundan, Italya'da Napoli'de bulunan, G?ney Avrupa M?ttefik Kuvvetleri (AFSOUTH) Baskomutanina karsi sorumludur. LANDSOUTHEAST, ordular gurubu seviyesinde bir karargahla mukayese edilebilir.

LANDSOUTHEAST Karargahina bir T?rk Orgeneral komuta etmektedir. Komutan yardimcisi bir Amerikali T?mgeneral, Kurmay Baskani ise bir T?rk T?mgeneraldir. Kurmay Baskanina karargah faaliyetlerinin koordinasyonunda iki Kurmay Yarbaskani yardimci olmaktadir. Plan ve Harekat Kurmay Yarbaskani bir T?rk Tuggeneral olup plan, harekat, istihbarat, muhabere ve bilgi sistemleri faaliyetlerini koordine ederken, albay r?tbesindeki Idari ve Lojistik Kurmay Yarbaskani da personel, idari ve lojistik konulari koordine eder. NATO'nun uluslararasi bir teskilat olmasi nedeniyle LANDSOUTHEAST Karargahinda T?rk, Amerikali, Ingiliz, Italyan ve Alman personel ile bir Fransiz Irtibat Subayi g?rev yapmaktadir. LANDSOUTHEAST Karargahinin muhabere destegi M?sterek Muhabere Grubunca; idari isler dahil g?venlik destegi ise Karargah Komutanliginca saglanmaktadir. LANDSOUTHEAST Karargahi Izmir, Sirinyer'de Orgeneral Vecihi AKIN?Kislasinda bulunmaktadir.

VAZIFESI

LANDSOUTHEAST (LSE) Komutanliginin Vazifesi: NATO emir ve komuta yapisi i?inde, kendisine verilebilecek baris g?c? g?revlerine katilmak; NATO ?lkelerine ve ?zellikle, LSE sorumluluk b?lgesine y?nelik olarak ortaya ?ikabilecek tehditleri caydirmak i?in buhran y?netimine istirak etmek ve komutasina verilen NATO kuvvetleri ile askeri tedbirlere katkida bulunmak veya bu tedbirleri bizzat uygulatmak; alinan t?m caydirici ?nlemlere ragmen, bir tecav?z vaki oldugunda, sorumluluk b?lgesini savunmaktir.

KUVVETLER

COMLANDSOUTHEAST'e, g?revini yerine getirebilmesi maksadiyla, ?? T?rk Ordusu ile NATO'nun toprak b?t?nl?g?n? tehdit eden bir buhran halinde LANDSOUTHEAST sorumluluk b?lgesine intikal ettirilecek olan ani reaksiyon ve s?ratli reaksiyon kuvvetleriyle harekat alani disindan gelecek diger kuvvetleri kapsayan NATO takviye kuvvetleri tahsis edilmistir.

LANDSOUTHEAST Komutanina bir buhran veya ?atisma halinde hava destegi saglayacak olan 6nci M?ttefik Taktik Hava Kuvveti (6nci ATAF) karargahi da, yeni m?sterek karargah binasindadir. 6nci ATAF, LANDSOUTHEAST'in kara g?revine paralel bir hava g?revi ifa etmektedir. Ayrica, karargahlari Napoli, Italya'da bulunan G?ney Avrupa M?ttefik Deniz Kuvvetleri (NAVSOUTH) ve G?ney Avrupa Deniz Darbe ve Destek Kuvvetlerine (STRIKFORSOUTH) bagli Daimi Temsilciler de ayni karargah binasinda g?rev yapmaktadir. Bu komutanliklarin temsilcileri, buhran zamanlarinda LANDSOUTHEAST ve 6nci ATAF Komutanliklariyla yakin irtibati saglayarak, b?lgede gelisen kara ve hava harekati hakkinda kendi komutanliklarina bilgi vermek ve m?sterek harekatin deniz kuvvetleriyle ilgili hususlarini koordine etmekten sorumludurlar.

---