STANAG 2563 and the civil-military medical interface doctrine

What it is

An agreement, not the doctrine itself

STANAG 2563 is a short covering agreement. The doctrine it exists for is AJMedP-6, Edition A, Allied joint civil-military medical interface doctrine, and the agreement's own aim is narrow: "to respond to the following interoperability requirements". Everything substantive - the principles, the planning guidance, the description of responsibilities - is in the publication, not the agreement.

That distinction is the thing readers most often have wrong about a STANAG. It is the instrument by which NATO nations commit to implement a standard. A nation ratifies it, implements it domestically, and a company meets it only because a contract or a tender says so. Ratification and implementation are separate steps, a nation can ratify with reservations, and so "is STANAG 2563 mandatory" has no general answer, only a contractual one.

What the doctrine is meant to achieve

The agreement states the doctrine's purpose in its own terms. It "should be applied by military medical forces, NATO as well as non-NATO, during operations involving non-military medical organizations", and it builds interoperability between nations in three ways: by outlining principles that govern military medical support at the interface with civilian populations, authorities and organizations; by providing guidance on the operational environment for concerted civilian and military medical planning; and by highlighting the responsibilities and medical capabilities available to a commander. None of that is elaborated here - it is AJMedP-6's content, described rather than reproduced on this page.

How a nation implements it

Ratification is examined by the nation and recorded in the NATO Standardization Document Database, and nations advise the NATO Standardization Office of their intention regarding implementation. Implementation itself is defined: the agreement "is implemented when the necessary orders/instructions have been issued directing the forces concerned to put the content of the covered standard into effect." Nations report effective implementation using the form in Annex H to AAP-03(J); partner nations use Annex G to the same publication. The agreement itself is reviewed at least once every three years, with the outcome recorded in the NSDD, and nations or NATO bodies may propose changes at any time through a standardization proposal, processed at the next review.

What it does not do

It describes no certification, no notified body, no government quality assurance and no audit of any organisation. Nations self-report their own ratification and implementation status; the only check the agreement names is of itself, through its own periodic review. It places no obligation on a supplier: nothing in the text addresses a manufacturer, a contractor or a product directly.

Edition and lineage

This is Edition 2, promulgated 5 November 2015. It supersedes STANAG 2563, Edition 1. It covers AJMedP-6, Edition A, and lists several related documents: STANAG 2437, which covers AJP-01, Allied joint doctrine; STANAG 2228, which covers AJP-4.10, Allied joint medical support doctrine; MC 326/3, NATO's principles and policies of medical support; ACO DIR 83-1, medical support to operations; and the UN-CMCoord Officer Field Handbook, a United Nations rather than a NATO document. None of the last three is in our catalogue.

Standards it references

• STANAG 2437Background
• AJP-01Background
• STANAG 2228Background