Start a free trial
Menu

STANAG 2560

STANAG 2560 evaluation of NATO medical treatment facilities

National authorities and NATO bodies evaluating the medical treatment capability a nation contributes to NATO operations

STANAG 2560 is NATO's agreement covering AMedP-1.6, AMedP-1.7 and AMedP-1.8, the publications nations use to evaluate the medical capability of the units and facilities they contribute to NATO operations; it does not create a certificate a company can hold.

Edition
3
Published
2025-07-08

What it is

STANAG 2560, Edition 3, dated 8 July 2025, is a NATO Standardization Agreement. It is not a technical specification in its own right. It is the ratified agreement by which NATO nations commit to implement three Allied Medical Publications: AMedP-1.6, Edition B, the medical evaluation manual; AMedP-1.7, Edition A, the capability matrix; and AMedP-1.8, Edition A, the skills matrix. The evaluation content a reader usually wants, what an evaluation actually looks at, lives in those three publications, each with its own record, not inside this cover.

The interoperability requirement behind it

The STANAG states its aim as responding to a single interoperability requirement: "to facilitate and provide the framework for nations to certify their own medical capabilities and also for the medical evaluation of multinational medical modules and units, when formed to support NATO operations." Under "Agreement," participating nations "agree to implement the following standards": AMedP-1.6, Edition B; AMedP-1.7, Edition A; AMedP-1.8, Edition A.

A nation's own recognition, not a company's certificate

The document is explicit about what the word "certification" means here: "Medical certification in the military field is the official recognition that a staff, module, unit or force component can provide the defined capability agreed by nations or, if it cannot, documents the residual risk and required mitigation." That recognition runs from a nation to the capability it contributes. Nowhere does the text name a supplier, manufacturer or contractor, and nothing in it creates a certificate that any organisation outside a national armed force could hold.

Who it binds, and how

STANAG 2560 "is effective upon receipt for use by the participating nations and NATO bodies," once ratified. Ratification and implementation are separate steps: nations that have not already done so are invited to "advise the NSO of their intention regarding its ratification and implementation," and national responses are recorded in the NATO Standardization Documents Database. The STANAG "is implemented when NATO member states have issued direction to use the medical evaluation questionnaire, capability matrix and skills matrix as a guide when designing and conducting medical evaluations," and member states separately "agree to apply the general principles of medical evaluation outlined in the covered publications." The cover sets no NATO Effective Date of its own ("Not applicable"), so there is no single answer to when it takes effect beyond a given nation's own ratification and implementation.

What else the cover names

Alongside the three publications it covers, the cover names related documents for context: MC 0326 on NATO principles and policies of medical support, MC 0458 on NATO education, training, exercises and evaluation policy, Bi-Strategic Command Directive 075-002 on education and training, and the Bi-Strategic Command capability codes and capability statements dated 26 October 2023. It also names STANAG 2182, which covers AJP-4; STANAG 2228, which covers AJP-4.10; STANAG 5064, which covers AAP-31; and STANAG 6023, which covers ATrainP-1. None of these bind this STANAG's own agreement; they are named as related reading. This edition "supersedes the following document: STANAG 2560, Edition 2, dated 28 January 2016," and reflects an updated AMedP-1.6, Edition B - the cover states "All other covered AMedPs remain unchanged and in effect." The STANAG "is to be reviewed in accordance with AAP-03."

How we help

STANAG 2560 itself gives nobody outside a national armed force something to implement directly: it is an agreement between nations, and the evaluation content sits in AMedP-1.6, AMedP-1.7 and AMedP-1.8. There is no certification here for a company to seek, and this page will not tell you that there is.

Where an organisation supports a national medical capability, through training, logistics or quality documentation, the practical work looks like any other evidence trail: documented procedures for the tasks a contract assigns, training records showing people are current, and a clear corrective-action history an auditor or customer quality representative can follow. ComplyTrain's role in that kind of work is to hold it as controlled documents rather than scattered across email and shared drives, for whatever a specific role actually requires.

ComplyTrain does not perform or referee a medical evaluation, decide what capability a nation must contribute, or substitute for AMedP-1.6, AMedP-1.7 or AMedP-1.8. In defence, the tier that applies and the standards that travel with it are set by the contract and the customer's quality clause, not by this page. Our standards explorer shows what else sits alongside this cover, and we're glad to talk through what a specific role actually requires.

Standards it references

Questions

Is STANAG 2560 mandatory?

It binds a nation once that nation has ratified and implemented it, not a company. The document names no supplier, manufacturer or contractor, and it reaches an organisation only through whatever role a specific arrangement gives it in supporting a national medical capability.

What is the difference between STANAG 2560, AMedP-1.6, AMedP-1.7 and AMedP-1.8?

STANAG 2560 is the cover agreement: it commits nations to implement the three publications but contains no evaluation content itself. AMedP-1.6 is the medical evaluation manual, AMedP-1.7 is the capability matrix, and AMedP-1.8 is the skills matrix, each covered under its own edition and each with its own record.

Can a company be certified to STANAG 2560?

No. The certification the document describes is "the official recognition that a staff, module, unit or force component can provide the defined capability agreed by nations" - a recognition a nation gives to the capability it contributes, never a certificate any organisation outside a national armed force can hold.

What edition of STANAG 2560 is current?

Edition 3, dated 8 July 2025, which supersedes Edition 2, dated 28 January 2016. This edition reflects an updated AMedP-1.6, Edition B; AMedP-1.7 and AMedP-1.8 keep the editions this cover prints.

How does STANAG 2560 relate to STANAG 2182, STANAG 2228, STANAG 5064 and STANAG 6023?

The cover names them as related documents, not as agreements STANAG 2560 depends on: STANAG 2182 covers AJP-4, STANAG 2228 covers AJP-4.10, STANAG 5064 covers AAP-31, and STANAG 6023 covers ATrainP-1. They inform the context STANAG 2560 sits in rather than being required by it.