Allied Land Command Allied Land Command ( LANDCOM ) is NATO ' s most senior land forces command . It is tasked to support of land forces readiness , competency and standardization , including evaluation and certification ; providing a land force planning capability ; and , when directed by the Supreme Allied Commander Europe ( SACEUR ) , provides the core of the headquarters responsible for the conduct of land operations . Based at Izmir , Turkey , the 350 - person headquarters will assume the responsibilities of Allied Force Command Heidelberg in Germany and Force Command Madrid in Spain , which are being deactivated as part of NATO ’ s transformation . NATO has had a headquarters at Izmir for decades . Initially the organization there was Allied Land Forces Southeastern Europe , under a United States Army lieutenant general . After the end of the Cold War for a period this became Joint Command Southeast . JC Southeast was superseded by Allied Air Component Command Izmir . From August 11 , 2004 , the headquarters of NATO ' s Allied Air Component Command in the south , formerly known as AIRSOUTH , was located in İzmir , Turkey . AAC Izmir was activated at General Vecihi Akin Garrison ( GVAG ) , Sirinyer , Izmir , that year . Significant support to U . S . personnel there is provided by Izmir Air Station . The NATO CC - Air HQ İzmir was responsible to the Allied Joint Force Command Naples based in Naples , Italy . , the Commander of the NATO Allied Air Component Command İzmir is Lt . General Ralph Jodice . The NATO Command Structure reorganization made public in mid - 2011 reduced the number of land force headquarters from two ( Heidelberg and Madrid ) to one . The resulting round of inter - allied lobbying over which country would host the remaining headquarters ended with Turkey being given the land command . Vision . LANDCOM was created through the North Atlantic Council to ensure the interoperability of NATO land forces , and placed directly under the Supreme Allied Commander Europe to be the leading voice on land issues within the Alliance . Lt Gen Frederick Hodges , the new commander , told Stars and Stripes that a ' . . major focus for his headquarters will be to ensure that the tactical lessons learned during a decade of fighting in Afghanistan aren ’ t lost . ' NATO land forces are an integral partner in six of the eight Joint Operations envisioned in the alliance ' s strategy and are trained and ready to deliver joint effects as a supported or supporting component or as the controlling headquarters of a joint operation . Land forces must be capable of operating as a key component of a comprehensive approach to a wide range of missions , working with civilian governmental and non - governmental organizations . To achieve the intended effect , LANDCOM will leverage each member nation ’ s land force capabilities and core competencies and the collective experiences of its officers , NCOs , soldiers and institutions to strengthen the networks , relationships , and effectiveness of all alliance land forces and those of partner nations . Intent . As the link between the NATO Command Structure and the land forces of the NATO Force Structure , LANDCOM provides a framework for training , readiness , interoperability , and standardization . LANDCOM supports the training and readiness efforts of the alliance by recommending priorities , identifying resources for training , and when appropriate , serving as higher headquarters for training exercises . Within Allied Command Operations , LANDCOM is the lead in doctrinal and conceptual discussions and developments relevant to land forces capabilities and will institutionalize the various components and aspects of land operations into integrated communities ( such as intelligence , logistics ) , increasing expertise and interoperability within the NATO force structure . LANDCOM maintains situational awareness and develops understanding across NATO ’ s area of interest through an operations center and connectivity with the Allied Command Operations ' Comprehensive Crisis and Operations Management Center ( CCOMC ) and other NATO command and control nodes , to enable continuous planning and assessments of existing and potential contingency and operations plans . The command is the only land - centric headquarters directly under SACEUR ' s command and control , and is prepared to deploy as the core of the headquarters responsible for any contingency requiring land - centric theatre command and control or for which other nationally - based headquarters might not be available or declared , in accordance with NATO objectives .