December 03 2004
Change Chief of Staff
On Friday 03 December 2004, Lieutenant General Norbert van Heyst, Commander 1 (German/Netherlands) Corps, handed over the command of the Chief of Staff from Brigadier General Rob Bertholee to Brigadier General Armin Staigis.
November 17 2004
Exercise Allied Warrior 04:
Admiral Mullen: “A Very Critical Step in NATO’s Transformation.”
On Monday 17 November, Admiral Michael G. Mullen, Commander JFC Naples, visited exercise Allied Warrior 04 in the Netherlands. Together with other high-ranking officials, the Admiral was briefed on the exercise and shown around the various exercise locations.
November 08-24 2004
Exercise Allied Warrior 04:
NATO Response Force Gains Momentum
Harskamp,
the Netherlands – ALLIED WARRIOR 04 (AW 04) is a Command Post Exercise for a Combined Joint
Force Land Component Command (CJFLCC). It will take place from 08 to 24
November 2004 in Amersfoort, Ede and Harskamp in the Netherlands and in
Verona and Naples in Italy.
Approximately 900 personnel from the following 16 NATO nations will participate in this exercise: Canada, Denmark, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom,
the United States of
America.
October 4-15 2004
Heroic Sword to Shape the LCC for NRF-4
For
its future role as a Land Component Command (LCC) for the NATO Response
Force (NRF), Headquarters 1 (German/Netherlands) Corps took a next step to
train its staff and subordinated units with exercise Heroic Sword. From 4
till 15 October, some 2,200 participants conducted this exercise to get
the procedures for effective command & control into shape.
August 18-28 2004
White Rock: NRF-4 Medical Task Force Deploys
The
successful ending of exercise ‘White Rock’ guarantees a professional
and trinational medical unit at the disposal of 1 (German/Netherlands)
Corps should it be deployed as a Land Component Command for the NATO
Response Force in the first half of 2005.
‘White Rock’ was the first opportunity for the German, Netherlands and Belgian medical troops in the NRF-4 Medical Task Force to exercise together. For this exercise, specific emphasis lay on the testing of the interoperability of medical and command procedures, of the material and personnel.
August 2004
Dutch 'Decoration of Merit' for German Colonel
The
Dutch Minister of Defence, Mr Henk Kamp, has decided to award the Dutch 'Decoration
of Merit' in silver to the German Colonel Georg Pazderski.
He got the Decoration for "his important contribution to the transformation of the first German-Netherlands Corps into a multinational High Readiness Forces (L) Headquarters. As the German Senior Staff Officer, Colonel Pazderski particularly dedicated himself to the German Dutch-cooperation and thus he substantially served the interests of the Headquarters and the Royal Netherlands Army".
July 21 2004
Greek
soldiers get going in Münster
Some
time ago, Greece signed the papers to participate in Headquarters
First German-Netherlands Corps. This NATO Member State has quite recently realized
this participation by posting three officers and one
non-commissioned officer to Münster. The NATO High Readiness Forces
(Land) Headquarters welcomed them on 21 July. Ten nations are working
together in the Headquarters now to prepare themselves for the first half
of 2005 in which the Headquarters will be on standby to provide a
so-called Land Component Command for the NATO Response Force.
July 6-8 2004
Units
of NATO Response Force-4 Train Together
With
representatives of the NRF-4 units present, the second Peace Rider
exercise this year marks the start of the six months of preparation before
1 (GE/NL) Corps enters the NRF stand-by period in the first half of 2005.
Although exercises Peace Rider 2004-I and Honest Sword were also dedicated
to NRF scenarios, this time the representatives of NRF-4 units are
actually participating in the planning cycles.
The overall purpose of this MAPEX was to set the procedural prerequisites for Command & Control and co-operation between Headquarters 1 (GE/NL) Corps as NRF-4 Land Component Command and the NRF-4 assigned units. The emphasis therefore, was on the familiarization with the standard operating procedures of NRF land operations.
Learn
more about NATO Response Force (NRF)
June 29 2004
Corps Bivouac 2004
In
the evening of 29 June, the Commander of 1 (GE / NL) Corps, Lieutenant
General (GE) Norbert van Heyst, welcomed the guests on the annual ‘Corps
Bivouac’. This event is organized at the HQ to emphasize the close ties
between the Corps en the Münster community. This year’s bivouac motto
was ‘Ready for New Challenges’. In his speech, the general stated that
the Corps is “well on track” for its new tasks in 2004 and in 2005.
The big challenges in that timeframe are the preparation and execution of
the stand-by period for the NATO Response Force. The bivouac with
traditional German and Dutch meals was concluded with a serenade by ‘Fanfarekorps
Koninklijke Landmacht’ conducted by Captain (NL) J.J. Nellestein and
the ‘Wehrbereichmusikkorps II’ conducted by Lieutenant Colonel
(GE) R. Kiauka.
June 29 2004
Change of
Command CIS Bn
On
29 June, Hans Boom officially handed over his command of the Communication
& Information Systems (CIS) Battalion to his successor Lieutenant
Colonel (NL) Hans Folmer. In the presence of the men and women of the CIS
Battalion the Corps Commander, Lieutenant General (GE) van Heyst,
expressed his appreciation for Boom's outstanding performance in the past
years. As a token of appreciation, the Corps Commander awarded Boom the
German Ehrenkreuz in silver. Lieutenant Colonel (NL) Hans Folmer
became acquainted with the CIS Bn, when he was a Dutch Liaison Officer in
the German Army Einsatzfuehrungskommando in Potsdam during the ISAF
III mission. The CIS Bn was an integral element in this mission.
May 18-19 2004
The way ahead
The 2nd NRF-4 Commanders Conference took place at HQ 1 German/Netherlands Corps on 18-19 May 2004. Starting with an icebreaker the evening before, the commanders of the NRF-4 force package gathered to communicate the actual status of NRF affairs.
Some 40 representatives of different command levels from company to division sized units, comprising of representatives from seven nations, governmental and non-governmental organizations covered the whole range of possible tasks for NRF-4, its functional and organizational implications.
Just to give you a rough idea: the agenda covered questions of Command and Control, certification and verification, cooperation with the United Nations and possible information operations.
The vivid exchange of ideas and options resulted in a draft concept of operations to build the basis for the way ahead in preparing all units for missions to come.
May 12 2004
Visit of the Dutch State Secretary for Defence Cees van der Knaap
Dutch
State Secretary for Defence Cees van der Knaap visited the Headquarters 1
(GE/NL) Corps and the Dutch Prince Claus Barracks in Münster on Wednesday
12 May 2004. Major General Marcel Celie, Deputy Commander 1 (GE/NL) Corps,
welcomed him. The HQ’s Chief of Staff, Brigadier General Robert
Bertholee, briefed the State Secretary on the ISAF mission of 1 (GE/NL)
Corps in 2003 and on the preparations for the role as Land Component
Command of the NATO Response Force (NRF-4) in the first half of 2005.
March 31 2004
High Readiness Forces
Commanders Conference
The
international aura of the 1 (German/Netherlands) Headquarters was once
again accentuated with the conduct of the first High Readiness Forces (HRF)
Commanders Conference this year. On 31 March the commanders of the units
assigned to the 1 (German/Netherlands) Headquarters for HRF tasks,
gathered in the freshly opened Prince Maurits Room in the HQ building. The
international company counted 16 general stars, reinforced with additional
senior commanding officers of HRF units. This first conference reviewed
2003 and looked ahead to the near NATO Response Force-future. Another
topic on the agenda was the restructuring of both the German and Dutch
armies and its possible effects on the HRF concept.
March 29 2004
General
Scharnhorst steps back for Prince Maurits
March 17 2004
UK Military Attaché visits 1 (GE/NL) Corps
Captain
Davies of the UK Royal Navy visited Headquarters 1 (GE/NL) Corps as
invited by the Deputy Commander of the Corps, Major General Marcel Celie.
Captain Davies is the British Military Attaché of the British Embassy in
The Hague. On 17 March Davies was introduced to the Corps organisation and
its structures. Also the Captain was briefed about 1 (GE/NL) Corps future
NATO Response Force (NRF) tasks.
March 01-12 2004
Exercise Honest Sword 2004 ended
With
the last phase of the exercise completed, exercise 'Honest Sword 2004'
has ended. It has provided its 1,200 participants a useful two-week
experience in the planning of a peace supporting Crisis Response Operation
in a NATO Response Force scenario.
March 01-12 2004
Honest Sword 2004 cutting through the planning cycles
With
one week of exercise completed, Command Post Exercise (CPX) 'Honest
Sword' is in the midst of its key training purpose. In the role of a
Land Component Command of the NATO Response Force, the staff of 1 (German
/ Netherlands) Corps Headquarters is to plan the implementation of a cease
fire agreement in a fictive war torn country, somewhere in West Africa.
Thereby the compliance of local warring parties is to be achieved.
March 01-12 2004
1 (German / Netherlands) Corps Entering the NATO Response Force Training Arena
Command
Post Exercise (CPX) Honest Sword is the first in a series of exercises in
2004 in which the multinational headquarters of 1 (German / Netherlands)
Corps will have a two-week training for its role as a Land Component
Command (LCC) for NATO Response Force (NRF) operations.
February 19 2004
“Prince Carnival” stormed Headquarters 1 (GE/NL) Corps
Beside
to the fact that Münster is the garrison of the 1 (GE/NL) Corps, it’s
also a stronghold of the annual carnival celebrations in the western parts
of Germany. Every year Headquarters 1 (GE/NL) Corps also celebrates the
carnival together with its members and the citizens of Münster. The motto
of this year was “communitate felices sumus – joint laughing makes
strong”. Following that old tradition, on Thursday 19 February, the
“Prince Carnival of Münster”, Andreas II., “stormed” the
Headquarters together with his foolish guards to take over the command.
February 12-13 2004
Joint Operations trained
About hundred officers from
different units assigned to 1 (GE/NL) Corps’ NRF “force package”
gathered for a seminar in the Aula at the Prince Claus Barracks in Münster on
12 and 13 February. The purpose of this seminar was to train key personnel
of the Headquarters and the subordinated NRF units on the principles and execution of Joint Operations. That means the
Joint Forces Command HQ has to coordinated use of land, air and maritime
components. 1 (GE/NL) Corps is assigned as Land Component Command (LCC)
for the NRF stand-by period from January to July 2005 (NRF 4).
February 11 2004
First NRF Commanders Conference
To
discuss NRF principles, capabilities and structures, the HQ 1
(GE/NL) Corps hosted commanders of units forming the NRF force package on
Wednesday 11 February. To start off, the Staff of 1 (GE/NL) Corps briefed
the audience on the NRF mission and the commanders intend. Afterwards, the
different assigned units had the possibility to present their capabilities
and structures. These units will form the so-called “force package”
that provides the necessary assets to carry out missions in the NRF-spectrum.
The force package is meant to allow a force exactly
tailored to the expected mission. At the moment units from Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the
Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Turkey are planned for it.
January 19-29 2004
Exercise Peace Rider 2004-1
Although the snowy Handorf Training Area quite mismatched the
exercise scenario, Peace Rider 2004-1 was a useful training for oncoming
exercise Honest Sword in March. From 19 till 29 January the exercise
scenario placed the 1 (German / Netherlands) Corps Headquarters from Münster
in the Handorf Training Area depicting fictive countries.
January 07 2004
New Years Address 2004 of Commander 1 (GE/NL) Corps
With some pride twinkling in his eyes the Commander pointed out that the HQ proved to be ready for mission in 2003: “ISAF proved the readiness of our headquarters for Peace Support Operations and it also showed that the preparatory training of 2002 on our way to an High Readiness Force - Headquarters was conducted successfully and in the right manner.”
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