Joint Logistic Support Group Brunssum established

Military logistics can be traced through history to battle success or failure and it remains highly important not only in modern warfare, but also for any kind of military activities like peace support operations or assistance in crises, like in the current Corona Pandemic. Following a decision by NATO Defence Ministers in February 2018, the two NATO Joint Forces Commands in Brunssum, The Netherlands, and in Naples, Italy, have been working towards the creation of dedicated military Joint Logistics Support Group Commands. NATO formally activated a legal order to establish the new Independent Military Commands on 29 May 2020. Today, the new Joint Logistics Support Group Headquarters Brunssum was officially established.

Commander JFC Brunssum, General Jörg Vollmer introduced Brunssum’s newest Military Commander, Brigadier General Jaroslav Schön of the Czech Army, as the first Commander of the Joint Logistics Support Group Brunssum in an internal ceremony to mark this important, legal step on way towards the implementation of the Joint Logistics Support Group as NATO Independent Military Command co-located with JFC Brunssum at Camp Hendrick.

In his speech, General Vollmer stressed the importance of military logistics. “NATO operations and exercises in the recent past have demonstrated that logistics are essential”, he said.

The decision to create a strong logistics element through Joint Logistic Support Groups collocated with the JFCs therefore was almost evident. So today we mark an important milestone for JFC Brunssum to fulfil our operational responsibilities.

He congratulated BrigGen Schön for the activation of his new Command. BrigGen Schön thanked General Vollmer for his encouraging words and addressed his staff, laying out the tasks that lie ahead for them. “The 29th of May 2020 is a pivotal date for Brunssum as the legal activation of the JLSG is an important step in unlocking other activities to map our course to proving our capability as your in-theatre logistics Command Headquarters. As you can see, we are just an acorn at the moment with only very limited number of staff of the new JLSG Command, but from that acorn, we will grow to a staff of 77 specialists ready to support NATO and JFC Brunssum in particular, with the optimal support to any campaign”, Gen Schön pointed out.

Once Joint Logistics Support Group Brunssum will have been fully staffed, the nearly 80 personnel will represent 14 of NATO’s 30 nations, with the USA and the Netherlands as the largest troop contributors. This will mean an influx of up to 300 multinational military and family members becoming part of the local communities in and around Brunssum. The new Command will be able to deploy up to 112 logistics experts into a Joint Operational Area to command logistics forces in support of NATO troops in all kind of scenarios and theatres.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the ceremony unfortunately had to be conducted without the presence of invitees from the community and the media. The main ceremony with guests representing the host nation and media outlets is planned for the 1^st of April 2021, as this date will be linked to the Joint Logistics Support Group Brunssum’s declaration of Initial Operational Capability to NATO.

Story by Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum Public Affairs Office