[2] The proposed fleet of warships would be crewed and operated by NATO command, instead of an assortment of independent forces ultimately under their own national banners.
Including surface vessels would allow for greater European involvement in both construction and training, argued Kennedy, who also dismissed the notion that an entire pan-Europe nuclear-armed fleet could be eliminated before any of them could commit retaliatory strikes.
The proposal eventually fell flat when American and European differences over basing strategies and financing could not be reconciled.
The prospect of having West Germany in the Multilateral Force was mocked by Tom Lehrer in the satirical song "MLF Lullaby".
Though the MLF never was created, Secretary of the Navy Paul Nitze stated that the project on Claude V. Ricketts was successful.