Joint Force Command Brunssum
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Joint Force Command Brunssum is the NATO military command based at Brunssum, the Netherlands. It consists of the Allied Land Component Command, Heidelberg, Germany, the Allied Maritime Component Command, Northwood, UK (AMCCN or CC-Mar Northwood) and Allied Air Component Command, Ramstein (CC-Air Ramstein), at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. JFC-B reports to Allied Command Operations based at Casteau in Belgium, along with the other NATO European area commands, Joint Force Command Naples and Joint Command Lisbon. JFC-B also serves as the NATO higher headquarters for the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.
The headquarters at Brunssum houses members of the central European NATO countries, including American, Canadian, British, German, Belgian, and Dutch personnel. A nearby war command post, the Castlegate bunker, may be associated with the command.
The NATO command at Brunssum has had a number of names over the years, most prominently Allied Forces Central Europe (AFCENT). During the Cold War, Allied Forces Central Europe consisted of two Army Groups: Northern Army Group (NORTHAG), which included the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR), and Central Army Group (CENTAG), as well as Allied Air Forces Central Europe (AAFCE). These Principal Subordinate Commanders (PSCs) had only limited peacetime authorities, and issues such as training, doctrine, logistics, rules of engagement (ROE), etc., were largely a national, rather than Alliance, responsibility.
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[edit] Land Component, Heidelberg
From April 1959, Campbell Barracks, Heidelberg was home to Headquarters Central Army Group (CENTAG) under an American general. It was charged with defending southern Germany against any prospective Soviet attack and consisted of the German II and III Corps and the American V and the VII Corps.
Ground operations relating to the crisis in former Yugoslavia began in late 1992. In November 1992, the UN Protection Force in Bosnia-Herzegovina was provided with an operational headquarters drawn from NATO's Northern Army Group (NORTHAG), including a staff of some 100 personnel, equipment, supplies and initial financial support.
Structural changes began on June 30, 1993, when HQ Central Army Group and Northern Army Group (NORTHAG, Mönchengladbach, GE) were deactivated and replaced by Headquarters Allied Land Forces Central Europe (LANDCENT), which was activated in Heidelberg on 1 July 1993.
The commander of US Army, Europe, Gen. William W. Crouch, assumed an additional role as commander of NATO LANDCENT on 15 February 1996. He was the first American to command LANDCENT since its 1993 activation. Originally, the LANDCENT command was to be rotated between German and Dutch generals. The dual command of United States Army Europe (USAREUR) and LANDCENT allows the continued integration of US Army Europe into NATO's post-Cold War structure. All NATO corps, except for the 4th German Corps, are now multinational. In the mid-late 1990s there were four multinational main defence corps in NATO's Central Region: one Danish-German (LANDJUT), one Dutch-German (I GE/NL Corps) and two German-United States (II GE/US and V US/GE). In addition, an agreement was made which set out the arrangements under which the European Corps, consisting of units from Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg and Spain, would be made available to NATO in times of crisis. Ensuring interoperability among units of different nations will be an ongoing challenge.
LANDCENT's missions were to:
- Protect the peace and deter aggression in NATO's central region.
- Plan, prepare and direct operations of land forces under NATO command.
- Plan, coordinate and conduct the land and air subcampaign jointly with NATO's Allied Air Command, Central.
- Develop plans for, and participate in, the MCP and PFP initiative.
- Support the flanks of the area of responsibilities.
- That area comprises Germany, Belgium, Luxemburg and the Netherlands.
The departure from the Cold War era brought the implementation of a new NATO Integrated Military Structure and LandCENT was formally designated Joint Headquarters Centre (JHQ CENT) in a ceremony held on March 9, 2000.[1] The new structure, which accompanied this designation, included personnel from five additional nations: the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Norway and Poland - making a total of 12 NATO Nations contributing to the Headquarters. On July 1, 2004, JHQ CENT Headquarters once again transitioned, when a ceremony marked its re-designation as Component Command-Land Headquarters, Heidelberg.
[edit] Headquarters Facility
The communication group located on the base is Central Region Signals Group, or CRSG, and it ensures communication throughout Central Europe.
One of the communication systems that is part of CRSG is the Communication Improvement System - 67, or CIP-67. This communication system is a line of site system using microwave radios and multiplexers posted in various sites throughout the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. The CIP-67 system is controlled by the FB-40 and FBM-40, which is a primitive computer system, used to monitor alarms on the network. The FB-40 was originally designed for the German rail system, but not meeting their very strict specifications, NATO decided to purchase it to monitor the alarms on the CIP-67 system. Another piece of equipment that is used in the CIP-67 system is the Standard Interface Equipment, or SIE, and this is used to make a voice frequency channel from a multiplexor usable with a telephone.
There is a large percentage of civilians at the installation.
On the base is Club 13, which is the all ranks club. The club is run by the HQ itself. It is closed during the weekend. In addition to the all ranks club, AFCENT has a movie theatre, a gymnasium, and a swimming pool.
[edit] Commander-in-Chief
Based on rotation, JFC Brunssum is commanded alternately by a British or a German General. The Commander-in-chief is usually a general of the Air Force, his deputy is usually a lieutenant general of the Army.
| Name | From | To | Title of Command |
|---|---|---|---|
| Egon Ramms (GER) | 26 January 2007 | --- | Commander, Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum |
| Gerhard W. Back (GER) | January 2004 | 26 January 2007 | until Juli 1st, 2004 Commander in Chief Allied Forces North Europe; aftermath Commander, Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum |
| Sir Jack Deverell (GB) | March 2001 | January 2004 | Commander in Chief Allied Forces North Europe |
| Joachim Spiering (GER) | 30 March 1998 | March 2001 | until March 3rd, 2000 Commander in Chief, Allied Forces Central Europe; aftermath Commander in Chief Allied Forces North Europe |
| Dieter Stöckmann (GER) | March1996 | 30 March 1998 | Commander in Chief, Allied Forces Central Europe |
| Helge Hansen (GER) | 1 April 1994 | March 1996 | Commander in Chief, Allied Forces Central Europe |
| Henning von Ondarza (GER) | 27 September 1991 | 23 March 1994 | Commander in Chief, Allied Forces Central Europe |
| Hans-Henning von Sandrart (GER) | 1 October 1987 | 27 September 1991 | Commander in Chief, Allied Forces Central Europe |
| Leopold Chalupa (GER) | 28 September 1983 | 1 October 1987 | Commander in Chief, Allied Forces Central Europe |
| Ferdinand von Senger und Etterlin (GER) | 1 October 1979 | 28 September 1983 | Commander in Chief, Allied Forces Central Europe |
| Franz-Joseph Schulze (GER) | 7 January 1977 | 30 September 1979 | Commander in Chief, Allied Forces Central Europe |
| Karl Schnell (GER) | 1 October 1975 | 7 January 1977 | Commander in Chief, Allied Forces Central Europe |
| Ernst Ferber (GER) | 1 October 1973 | 30 September 1975 | Commander in Chief, Allied Forces Central Europe |
| Jürgen Bennecke (GER) | 1 July 1968 | 30 September 1973 | Commander in Chief, Allied Forces Central Europe |
| Johann Adolf Graf von Kielmansegg (GER) | 1 September 1963 | 1 April 1968 | Commander in Chief, Allied Forces Central Europe |
| Jean Albert Emile Crépin (FR) | December 1963 | June 1966 | Commander in Chief, Allied Forces Central Europe; on the July 1st, 1966 France is no longer part of the structure of NATO |
| Pierre-Elie Jaquot (FR) | March 1961 | December 1963 | Commander in Chief, Allied Forces Central Europe |
| Maurice Challe (FR) | May 1960 | February 1961 | Commander in Chief, Allied Forces Central Europe |
| Jean-Etienne Valluy (FR) | October 1956 | May 1960 | Commander in Chief, Allied Forces Central Europe |
| Alphonse Juin (FR) | 20 August 1953 | September 1956 | Commander in Chief, Allied Forces Central Europe |
[edit] References
- ^ Allied Land Component Headquarters Heidelberg, History of the Headquarters, updated September 15, 2004
