The US Navy is moving its European operational headquarters from London to Naples as part of a post-Cold War shift in priorities and to meet the growing threat of international terrorism, its commander in Europe said Thursday.
The move will take place "over the next year," said Admiral Gregory Johnson, who is also Nato's outgoing southern Europe commander.
Johnson said the 26-country alliance is confronting "a band of chaos" across the globe, facing the threats of terrorism, nuclear proliferation and "failing states".
The new "very mobile, agile" Nato Response Force, which so far has 17,500 troops but which will eventually grow to some 24,000, would demonstrate the seriousness of intent to tackle such security challenges.
The move of the US headquarters from London is part of a plan outlined by US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to the armed services committee of the US Senate last month, which will see the military abandon 35 percent of its Cold War era bases abroad.
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