The CMC is the senior military spokesperson of the 32-nation alliance and principal advisor to the Secretary General.

The chair is one of the foremost officials of NATO, next to the Secretary General and the Supreme Allied Commander Europe.

[2] The current Chair of the NATO Military Committee is Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, former Chief of the Defence Staff of Italy, who took office on 17 January 2025.

[3] In accordance with Article 9 of the North Atlantic Treaty and the guidance given by the Working Group on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization during the first Council session in Washington in 1949, the Defence Committee rapidly established the Military Committee.

Each member state in turn held the Chair of the Military Committee for one year (C1 D-1/2,[5] DC 1/2[6]).