Allied Joint Force Command (JFC) Naples (JFC Naples) is a NATO military command based in Naples, Italy. It was activated on 15 March 2004, after what was effectively a redesignation of its predecessor command, Allied Forces Southern Europe (AFSOUTH), originally formed in 1951. Commander JFC Naples reports to the Supreme Allied Commander Europe at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, Casteau, Belgium.

Originally, Allied Forces Southern Europe was one of two major NATO commands in the Mediterranean area, the other being Allied Forces Mediterranean based on the island of Malta, responsible for naval activities in the region. While Admiral Robert B. Carney of the U.S. Navy was appointed as Commander-in-Chief Allied Forces Southern Europe (CinCAFSOUTH) on 19 June 1951, AFMED was not activated until 1953. The delay was due to negotiations and compromises between the Americans and the British, who wished to retain one of their commanders over Britain's traditional sea lines of communication stretching through the Mediterranean to the Suez Canal and beyond. From 1951 to 2003, the Commander-in-Chief of Allied Forces Southern Europe was always a United States Navy admiral, based at Naples, who also held the national appointment of Commander-in-Chief United States Naval Forces Europe.

Coordinates: 40°50′42″N 14°15′30″E / 40.845°N 14.25833°E / 40.845; 14.25833

Naples (Italian: Napoli [ˈnaːpoli] ( listen), Neapolitan: Napule; Latin: Neapolis; Ancient Greek: Νεάπολις, meaning "new city") is the capital of Campania and the third-largest city in Italy, after Rome and Milan. As of 2012^[update], around 960,000 people live within the city's administrative limits. The wider Naples urban area, covering 777 km² (300 sq mi), has a population of over 3 million, and is the 10th-most populous urban area in the European Union. Between 4.1 and 4.4 million people live in the overall Naples metropolitan area, one of the largest European cities on the Mediterranean Sea.

Naples is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. Greek settlements were established on the island of Megaride in the Gulf of Naples as early as the 9th century BC. A larger mainland colony – initially known as Parthenope (Παρθενόπη) – developed around the 7th century BC, and was refounded as Neápolis (Νεάπολις) in the 5th century BC. Naples became a lynchpin of Magna Graecia and played a key role in the merging of Greek culture into Roman society, eventually becoming a cultural centre of the Roman Republic. Naples remained influential after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, serving as the capital city of the Kingdom of Naples between 1282 and 1816. Thereafter, in union with Sicily, it became the capital of the Two Sicilies until the unification of Italy in 1861. During the Neapolitan War of 1815, Naples strongly promoted Italian unification.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen (Danish pronunciation: [ˈɑnɐs ˈfɔʊ̯ˀ ˈʁɑsmusn̩] ( listen); born 26 January 1953) is a Danish politician, and the 12th and current Secretary General of NATO. Rasmussen served as Prime Minister of Denmark from 27 November 2001 to 5 April 2009.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen was the leader of the Liberal Party (Venstre), and headed a right-wing coalition with the Conservative People's Party which took office in 2001, and won its second and third terms in February 2005 and in November 2007. Rasmussen's government relied on the Danish People's Party for support, in keeping with the Danish tradition for minority government. His government introduced tougher limits on non-ECA immigration and froze tax rates before he took office (the "tax freeze", or skattestoppet in Danish). He has authored several books about taxation and government structure.

In his early career, Rasmussen was a strident critic of the welfare state, writing the classical liberal book From Social State to Minimal State in 1993. However, through the 1990s, his views moved towards the political centre. Under Rasmussen, certain taxes were lowered, but the Conservative coalition partners repeatedly argued for more tax cuts and a flat tax rate at no higher than 50%. Fogh implemented an administrative reform reducing the number of municipalities (kommuner) and replacing the thirteen counties (amter) with five regions. Rasmussen referred to this as "the biggest reform in thirty years".

Michael Glenn "Mike" Mullen (born October 4, 1946) is a retired United States Navy admiral, who served as the 17th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from October 1, 2007 to September 30, 2011. Mullen previously served as the Navy's 28th Chief of Naval Operations from July 22, 2005 to September 29, 2007. He was only the third naval officer in Navy history to be appointed to four different four-star assignments; the others being the Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Commander, Allied Joint Force Command Naples from October 2004 to May 2005, and as the 32nd Vice Chief of Naval Operations from August 2003 to August 2004. As Chairman, Mullen was the highest ranking officer in the United States Armed Forces. He retired from the Navy after over 43 years of service.

The eldest of five children of Hollywood press agent Jack Mullen and his wife Jane, who worked as an assistant to Jimmy Durante, Mullen was born in Los Angeles, California. He attended St. Charles Borromeo Church (North Hollywood) grade school, and graduated from Notre Dame High School (Sherman Oaks) in 1964. Mullen then attended the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, as a recruited basketball player, graduating in 1968.

James E. "Hoss" Cartwright (born September 22, 1949) is a retired United States Marine Corps four-star general who last served as the eighth Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from August 31, 2007 to August 3, 2011. He previously served as the Commander, U.S. Strategic Command, from September 1, 2004 to August 10, 2007, and as Acting Commander, U.S. Strategic Command from July 9, 2004 to September 1, 2004. He retired from the Marine Corps after over 40 years of service.^[when?]

Cartwright, born on September 22, 1949 in Rockford, Illinois, attended West High School before going on to the University of Iowa.

Cartwright was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps in November 1971. He attended Naval Flight Officer training and graduated in April 1973. He attended Naval Aviator training and graduated in January 1977. He has operational assignments as an Naval Flight Officer in the F-4, and as a pilot in the F-4, OA-4, and F/A-18. His callsign comes from the fictional character Eric 'Hoss' Cartwright, the middle brother on the classic 1960s TV show Bonanza, who was played by actor Dan Blocker.