Exercise Longstep Exercise Longstep was a ten - day NATO naval exercise held in the Mediterranean Sea during November 1952 under the overall command of Admiral Robert B . Carney , USN , the Commander - in - Chief Allied Forces Southern Europe ( CINCAFSOUTH ) . This exercise involved over 170 warships and 700 aircraft , and it featured a large - scale amphibious assault along the western coast of Turkey . During Exercise Longstep combined training in the coordination of radio and wire communications between ships , aircraft , and ground forces of the six - state , five - language combined force took place . With Exercise Grand Slam , this exercise served as the prototype for future NATO maritime exercises in the Mediterranean Sea during the Cold War . In January 1950 , the North Atlantic Council approved NATO ' s military strategic concept of deterring Soviet aggression . NATO military planning took on a renewed urgency following the outbreak of the Korean War , prompting NATO to establish Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe ( SHAPE ) under the command of General of the Army Dwight D . Eisenhower , U . S . Army , on 2 April 1951 . Exercise Longstep was an early naval exercise for SHAPE ' s southern regional command , Allied Forces Southern Europe ( AFSOUTH ) . Command structure . The overall exercise commander for Grand Slam was Admiral Robert B . Carney USN , NATO ' s Commander - in - Chief Allied Forces Southern Europe ( CINCSOUTH ) . AFSOUTH component commanders during Longstep were : Operation history . The objective of the Allied ( " Blue " ) forces was to dislodge enemy ( " Green " ) invasion forces from their occupying positions in the Eastern Mediterranean . Green forces consisted of the Italian 56th Tactical Air Force and submarines of the United States , Great Britain , France , Greece , and Turkey lying in wait to ambush the Blue amphibious convoy departing from Italian embarkation ports . Over 170 warships and 700 aircraft were involved in Operation Longstep . Blue naval forces were centered around the U . S . Sixth Fleet , under the command of Vice Admiral John H . Cassady , USN , and its two aircraft carriers , the and . Air sorties were flown by American and Italian aircraft attacking Blue naval forces , and Blue carrier - based aircraft counter - attacking Green military targets in northern Italy . Operation Longstep concluded with an amphibious landing at Lebidos Bay south of İzmir , Turkey , involving 3000 French , Italian , and Greek troops , including the Third Battalion , Second Marines , under the overall command of General Robert E . Hogaboom , USMC . In the actual landing at Lebidos Bay , the Italians went ashore at H - Hour minus six in a diversionary attack on nearby Doganbey Island . This was followed by the main landing force led U . S . Marines along with the French and Greek troops . After securing the beach - head and setting up a defensive perimeter , the landing force was re - embarked onto the amphibious shipping off - shore , concluding Exercise Longstep . Carrier aviation units . Carrier Air Group Seventeen ( CVG - 17 ) embarked on USS " Franklin D . Roosevelt " ( CVB - 42 ) : Carrier Air Group Eighteen ( CVG - 18 ) embarked on USS " Wasp " ( CV - 18 ) : Legacy . Longstep was an early attempt to integrate the vavious naval forces into a more combined force under NATO command . Another important aspect of Longstep was combined training in the coordination of radio and wire communications between ships , aircraft , and ground forces of the six - nation , five - language combined force .