Northwood Headquarters

Northwood Headquarters, which is owned by the Chief of Joint Operations (CJO), is home to his own Permanent Joint Headquarters (including the JFHQ), the Commander Naval Forces North (one of NATO's three major Commanders) and Headquarters of Commander in Chief Fleet.

Northwood has seen much expansion over the past two decades and is still evolving. With the modern command, control and communications facilities installed here to allow both the Chief of Joint Operations to direct national operations world-wide and the Commander in Chief to direct Maritime Operations, Northwood is very much in the front line.

Eastbury Park Northwood was the home of the Headquarters of Coastal Command, Royal Air Force from 1939 to 1969. It was in fact the RAF who started going underground to build their Headquarters.

In 1953 the Headquarters of the NATO Commander-in-Chief Eastern Atlantic Area was established at Northwood. The Commander-in-Chief was also Commander-in-Chief Home Fleet who flew his flag in HMS TYNE at Portsmouth.

In 1960 CINC HOME FLEET moved to Northwood and in 1966 the NATO Channel Command (a post also held by CINC Home Fleet) moved to Northwood from Portsmouth. In April 1963 the Naval unit at Northwood was commissioned as HMS WARRIOR under the command of the then Captain of the Fleet.

In 1966 the command was established for a Commander in Command and in September 1971 the RN took over responsibility for the whole establishment. In 1978 the Flag Officer Submarines who is also COMSUBEASTLANT moved from HMS DOLPHIN at Gosport to Northwood.

HMS WARRIOR was a self-accounting Fleet Establishment, under the command of the Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command. The base at Northwood now accommodates the National Commands of Fleet, the Permanent Joint Headquarters and the NATO Commands of East Atlantic, Submarines East Atlantic and Maritime Air East Atlantic.

In July 1994, as a part of the Defence Costs Study, it was decided to form a Permanent Joint Headquarters (PJHQ) at Northwood, to replace the previous approach whereby headquarters staffs were drawn together ad hoc in response to a developing crisis.

The primary role of the PJHQ, therefore, is to be responsible for the planning and execution of UK-led joint, potentially joint, combined and multi-national operations.