Andrew Karney During this time he filed a number of international patents which were used by developers of the first digital telephone switching equipment in the UK, the US, Canada, France, Sweden and Japan. In 1973 he joined Logica, an international systems company and was a senior member of team of engineers from Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, SHAPE Technical Center in the Hague, military personnel from NATO countries and industry defining the communications and IT requirements for the underground Static War HQ to be built near Mons in Belgium. He was project director of the European project based in Paris to
Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe Mediterranean Sea. To improve alliance military readiness and integration, NATO continued to hold annual alliance-wide military exercises each autumn ("FALLEX") that was jointly planned and executed by SACEUR and SACLANT forces. From 1967 however, under 'flexible response', the aim became to build up conventional forces so that, if possible, nuclear weapons might not be needed. However it was made clear that first use of nuclear weapons might be necessary if the conventional defences were being overwhelmed. Eventually SACEUR was allocated planning control of a small number of US and British ballistic missile submarines, and some 7,000 tactical nuclear weapons were