At the very heart of the North Atlantic Treaty signed by a dozen nations on April 4, 1949 is Article V, commonly referred to as the Collective Defense clause. Simply put, this section of the treaty states that an attack against or more of the member countries in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against all of them. Following the terrorist attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001, NATO came to the conclusion that these events qualified as triggering events for the invocation of Article V—the first time in the organization’s 50-plus-year history the Article had even been activated in response to an attack of any kind.
NATO launched a series of measures based upon the authority granted it by Article V. One of the most immediate was the deployment of NATO ship to patrol the Mediterranean to monitor shipping, a prime method of moving large quantities (or types) of contraband equipment, materials, or even cash. This began on October 6; less than three weeks later, the action had been identified as Operation Active Endeavor. The primary activity was boarding ships to ensure compliance with ant-terrorism shipping regulations, but NATO maritime forces required compliance from ship captains and company owners.
The scope of Active Endeavor was broadened in 2003 when vessels taking part in the operation were authorized to offer escorts to non-military ships flying Alliance flags passing through the Straits of Gibraltar. Dubbed Task Forced STROG (for Straits of Gibraltar). The waterways of the Straits make it a particularly attractive from the standpoint of terrorist operations, especially given the volume of traffic there (roughly 3,000 ships a day). Although Task Force STROG came to an end in May, 2004, nearly 500 ships had taken advantage of the increased protection offered by Active Endeavor.
Operation Active Endeavor has undergone several organization changes and objective realignments since that time, and today much emphasis is placed on building a holistic picture of maritime activity in the Mediterranean.
While NATO Medals for all operations are awarded by the Secretary General of NATO to civilian and military members of the Armed Forces of the United States who participate in NATO-designated operations, they must be approved by the Secretary of Defense for acceptance and wear by U.S. Military personnel. Once this approval has been gained, the same regulations regarding medal eligibility apply to all candidates. Qualifying length of service is 30 days—either consecutive or cumulative—in any single tour of duty, which is generally ninety days. (Time of service requirements are waived for those killed in action or who have gone missing in action.)
It is possible for U.S. Servicemembers to qualify for more than one NATO Medal for actions during a single tour; in those cases, the NATO chain of command will decide which medal is the most appropriate. The medal set that U.S Servicemembers receive contains a clasp identifying the operation for which the award is being made, but while U.S. Servicemembers are allowed to retain the clasp, but only the medal and ribbon and authorized for wear on the uniform. Additionally, Servicemembers may wear only one NATO medal; if they earn a NATO medal for a different operation, they are authorized to wear a bronze service star in recognition of this subsequent award.
In November 2016, Active Endeavor was replaced by the non-Article-5 Operation Sea Guardian.