AD1 (ACO directive)

AD1 is the NATO abbreviation for ACO directive, meaning a directive issued by Allied Command Operations (ACO). NATO's Glossary of NATO Acronyms and Abbreviations (AAP-15) lists the entry as "AD1, ACO directive" and gives the French equivalent as "directive de l'ACO". The glossary is published in the NATO archives.

ACO is the NATO command responsible for the planning and execution of Alliance operations. The abbreviation therefore belongs to NATO military documentation, where directives from that command are cited by number. Suppliers who see AD1 in a document tied to a NATO activity can read it as a reference to an ACO directive.

What the NATO glossary says about AD1

The 2013 edition of AAP-15 is a bilingual English and French reference. Its entry for AD1 expands the abbreviation as "ACO directive" in English and "directive de l'ACO" in French. Both forms describe the same thing: a directive from Allied Command Operations.

NATO also maintains NATOTerm, its official terminology database. NATOTerm contains non-classified military and non-military terminology relevant to NATO, and it is the natural place to check other NATO terms that appear alongside AD1.

Allied Command Operations and where it sits in NATO

According to NATO, Allied Command Operations is responsible for the planning and execution of NATO Alliance operations. NATO identifies ACO and Allied Command Transformation (ACT) as the two strategic commands at the head of its military command structure, as described on the ACT page.

An ACO directive comes from the first of those two commands. That ties the term to the operational side of NATO's command structure.

Numbered ACO directives such as AD 80-70

In operational publications, ACO directives usually appear with a number. A NATO publication, the Commanders and Staff Capstone Handbook for Attacking the Networks, refers to AD 80-70 as an ACO directive on campaign synchronization and joint targeting. The same publication references the ACO Comprehensive Operational Planning Directive (COPD).

The glossary gives AD1 as the general acronym for an ACO directive, while operational documents use numbered forms such as AD 80-70. When a document needs to point to one specific directive, the number identifies it. AD1 names the category.

What AD1 means for a supplier bidding on Canadian public contracts

Canada's Directive on the Management of Procurement governs federal procurement of goods, services and construction, and it seeks best value for the Crown. It does not identify AD1 or an ACO directive as a Canadian procurement requirement, so AD1 is not a standard Canadian contract clause.

Requirements for a given bid are set out in the solicitation documents published with each opportunity, such as those listed on CanadaBuys. If a solicitation cites an ACO directive by number, obtain that directive and read it before you price or commit to compliance. If you only see the abbreviation AD1, the NATO glossary entry tells you what it stands for.