A look at the Defence news 20–26 November
Over 30,000 Ukrainian military personnel trained by EUMAM
According to the outgoing Netherlands Minister of Defence Kajsa Ollongren and the Netherlands Chief of Defence Onno Eichelsheim, the European training mission EUMAM is one of the main pillars of the EU support to Ukraine. The Minister and the Chief of Defence were in Germany to visit one of the training locations. The aim was to train 15,000 military personnel on European soil, a number that has more than doubled. Over 30,000 Ukrainians have already been trained through the various programmes.
American helicopter brigade heading home via the Netherlands
Last week, people in the southern Netherlands could spot large numbers of American helicopters. The 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade returned to the United States via the Netherlands with about 85 aircraft. This also involved vehicles and other materiel: 1,400 items in total, that were transported on low-bed trucks from Romania, Lithuania, Germany and Poland to Vlissingen in the Dutch province of Zeeland.
General Eichelsheim: “Your work contributes to stability in Bosnia-Herzegovina”
The Netherlands Chief of Defence General Onno Eichelsheim paid a visit to the Dutch troops in Bosnia-Herzegovina, where Dutch marines and other military personnel are conducting operations for the EUFOR mission Althea. Together with colleagues from 20 other countries, the military personnel help in maintaining peace and order.
No plans to change current and planned Dutch involvement in Iraq
For now, the Dutch government does not see any reason to change the current or planned Dutch military contribution to Iraq. Since the beginning of last month, the security situation in many countries in the Middle East has been tense. Threats are directed against the United States in particular, but the threat level against the Western military presence in general has also increased.
Remains in British bomber from missing crew members
Laboratory research in Soesterberg has shown that the human remains found in the wreckage of the British Lancaster ED603 are from the 3 missing crew members, Arthur Smart, Charles Sprack and Edward Moore. This means that the fate of the missing crew members is now clear to the Royal Netherlands Army Recovery and Identification Service.
Forensic and investigative team back home after investigation of alleged war crimes in Ukraine
The forensic and investigative team has returned from Ukraine. The 40-strong group included specialists from the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee. Over the past 6 weeks, the team investigated possible war crimes. This was the fourth such investigation since May 2022, all at Ukraine’s request.
The Netherlands seeks to join international organisation OCCAR
The Netherlands wants to become a member of the international organisation for cooperation in managing defence equipment projects, OCCAR (Organisation Conjointe de Coopération en matière d’Armement). Netherlands Minister of Defence Kajsa Ollongren sent the House of Representatives an update on this subject last week.