The command of SNMCMG1 has been entrusted to Germany and its Commander is Lieutenant Commander Beata Król. The group currently includes ships from Belgium, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Latvia, and Germany.
Since the beginning of the year, SNMCMG1 has been actively patrolling the North, Baltic and Norwegian Seas, focusing on the detection and neutralization of sea mines and munitions.
SNMCMG1 is part of the maritime component of the Alliance's Response Force and its main task is to be ready to conduct mine action at sea within a defined readiness time. On a daily basis, the ships of the group participate in training, maneuvering exercises, navigation drills, and mine clearance military exercises. A sub-task is patrolling, during which NATO presence is demonstrated both at sea and ashore during port visits.
SNMCMG1 is one of the four permanent NATO Maritime Task Groups. NATO Standing Maritime Groups are the maritime components of the NATO Response Force and act as an immediate reaction force. NATO Standing Maritime Mine Action Group 1 is one of the two multinational units of the Alliance's Maritime Component specifically designed to conduct mine action operations and is capable of conducting immediate operations anywhere within the NATO Response Force.
The Latvian Armed Forces have been participating in SNMCMG1 since 2007.
