Exercise Longstep

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: • Allied Air Force South (AIRSOUTH) - Major General David M. Schlatter, USAF • Allied Land Forces Southern Europe (LANDSOUTH) - Lieutenant General Maurizio Lazzaro De Castiglioni, Italian Army • Allied Naval Forces South (NAVSOUTH) - Vice Admiral John H. Cassady, USN ==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. 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 Air Group Eighteen (CVG-18) embarked on USS Wasp (CV-18): ==Legacy==

Longstep was an early attempt to integrate the various 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. ==See also==