But due to difficult negotiations over the British retaining some control of the Western-Eastern sea lanes in the Mediterranean, the establishment of Allied Forces Southern Europe itself was delayed.

The STRIKFORSOUTH staff was initially composed principally of U.S. Navy personnel because forces earmarked for STRIKFORSOUTH were from the U.S. Other allied personnel from France, Greece, Italy, Turkey, and the United Kingdom came on board to better mesh with other Mediterranean NATO commanders in planning and conducting exercises and training.

In 1953 the command set up shore spaces at the NATO AFSOUTH complex in the Neapolitan neighborhood of Bagnoli which had been one of the Fascist regime's public housing architectural showcases.

STRIKFORSOUTH coordinated NATO support for the security of the lines of supply through the Mediterranean for Coalition forces during the Gulf War in 1990 and 1991.

As the Soviet threat diminished in the early 1990s, attention shifted towards internal conflicts in the Balkans, the Middle East, and Africa.

As a result, STRIKFORSOUTH was directly responsible in developing and refining the Multinational Amphibious Task Force (MNATF) concept.