Gen. Ralston: U.S. ranks NATO aspirants.

• Author: Book, Elizabeth G.
• Position: Washington Pulse - North Atlantic Treaty Organization - Brief Article

The U.S. European Command has been studying the military force structures of those nations seeking membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and will submit its assessment to the Defense Department in the near future. (See related story, page 52).

EUCOM's commander, Air Force Gen. Joseph Ralston, told the House International Relations subcommittee on Europe that the assessment focused on four areas: strategy and force structure, defensive capabilities, legal and legislative issues, and security procedures.

The 10 countries applying for NATO admittance "have a common legacy of inflexible operational doctrine and authoritarian communist defense planning that was unaccountable to the public," said Ralston. The aspirants have forces that fit into two categories: "Those who inherited a burden of obsolete Warsaw Pact equipment and imbalanced (sic) personnel...