What it is
STANAG 2579 is the NATO standardization agreement by which participating nations register their acceptance of ALingP-1, NATO's Allied publication on linguistic support for operations. The STANAG itself sets no linguistic-support requirements; it is the agreement, and the content lives in ALingP-1. This is Edition 1, promulgated 12 September 2011.
What the STANAG agrees to
The document states its aim plainly: "to register national acceptance of ALingP-1". Nations that ratify it "agree to use ALingP-1", and changes to the publication are accepted only once they have been "formally offered by the MCJSB, to national authorities concerned and have been agreed by them". The STANAG's own content is a short cover: an aim, an agreement to use ALingP-1, and the mechanics of ratification, reservation and implementation. Whatever linguistic support for operations actually involves sits in ALingP-01 itself.
How it binds
A STANAG binds a nation, not a supplier, and it binds through ratification rather than by existing. The promulgation letter records that the agreement "has been ratified by nations as reflected in the NATO Standardization Document Database (NSDD)". National staffs are addressed directly: "National staffs are requested to examine their ratification status of the STANAG and, if they have not already done so, advise the MCJSB NSA, through their national delegation as appropriate of their intention regarding its ratification and implementation." And the agreement is exact about departures: "No departure may be made from the agreement without informing the tasking authority in the form of a reservation." A supplier meets STANAG 2579 and ALingP-1 only when a contract or tender says so; the document does not address industry directly.
What implementation actually involves
The STANAG and ALingP-1 are "considered ready to be implemented when they have been received by the authorities and units concerned" - there is no separate technical sign-off described, and no fixed date by which every nation must comply. Ratifying nations have also agreed that their own "national orders, manuals and instructions implementing this STANAG will include a reference to the STANAG number for purposes of identification".
What the document does not cover
STANAG 2579 names no certification, audit or inspection regime, no numeric threshold, and no obligation addressed directly to a supplier or manufacturer. It names no other related document either: "Related Documents: none". Anyone looking for what linguistic support for operations actually requires in practice will not find it here; that detail is in ALingP-1.