Brunssum, The Netherlands - On Monday 23 January, the mayors of Beekdaelen, Brunssum, Eijsden-Margraten, Heerlen, Landgraaf, Maastricht and Sittard-Geleen visited NATO Headquarters 'Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum' (HQ JFCBS).
Commander JFC Brunssum, General Guglielmo Luigi Miglietta Italian Army, welcomed his guests to the HQ, where they received a briefing on the tasks and responsibilities of JFCBS and visited the operational heart of the HQ, the 'Joint All-Domain Operations Centre' (JADOC). They also received a historical briefing on the former State Mine Hendrik, now referred to as NATO Camp ‘Hendrik van Nassau-Ouwerkerkkamp’, upon which JFCBS is located.
During the briefing, guests received explanations about the role, duties and activities of the headquarters, which ensure the continued maintenance of peace in the Northern part of Europe and along NATO's eastern flank, from northern Norway to Hungary.
In the JADOC, the mayors received a unique insight into the operational heart of a NATO headquarters, where HQ JFCBS monitors its area of responsibility 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year.
HQ JFCBS is one of the three ‘Operational-level’ military headquarters of NATO that, together, are able to protect and defend NATO territory whilst, in parallel, plan and execute large-scale missions anywhere in the world. Of the three, it is the only headquarters led by a European four-star general. The importance of this HQ within NATO has increased enormously over the past year due to the unlawful act of aggression by the Russia in Ukraine.
Originally known as Allied Forces Central Europe (AFCENT), JFCBS was first situated in Fontainbleau, France, but moved to The Netherlands after France decided to leave the military command structure of NATO in the mid-1960s. At that time, coalmines were closing in the Province of Limburg, and the Dutch government persuaded NATO to move the HQ to Brunssum. This year marks seventy years since the headquarters’ founding.
During the visit, the Commander of JFC Brunssum underlined the positive impact on the region provided by the huge international community living in Limburg. He also stressed the importance of further strengthening the already well-established relationship between JFC members and the civil society to achieve mutual benefit.