Brunssum, The Netherlands – On Tuesday, 20 February 24, the mayor and aldermen of Brunssum visited the NATO headquarters 'Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum' (HQ JFCBS). This headquarters is one of the two NATO units stationed at the Hendrik van Nassau-Ouwerkerk camp in Brunssum.
Italian four-star general Guglielmo Luigi Miglietta welcomed the high Brunssum delegation to HQ JFCBS. They received lunch, a briefing about the headquarters, visited the operational heart - the 'Joint Operations Center' (JOC) - and received a historical briefing outside about the former state mine Hendrik and the NATO headquarters.
During the briefing, the guests received an explanation of the role, tasks and responsibilities of the headquarters, such as maintaining peace in our part of Europe, but also the rest of central and north east Europe. The importance of this headquarters within NATO has increased enormously over the past year due to the unlawful act of aggression by the Russian side in Ukraine.
In the JOC, HQ JFCBS monitors the 'Brunssum' area of responsibility in all five domains (Air, Land, Sea, Space & Cyberspace) on large screens 24 hours a day, every day of the year. A unique insight for guests into the operational heart of NATO headquarters.
HQ JFCBS is one of three military headquarters at the so-called operational level of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), which together are able to protect and defend NATO territory and plan and conduct large-scale missions anywhere in the world to be carried out.
The Brunssum NATO headquarters is one of the most important military headquarters within NATO. It is remarkable that this is the only headquarters led by a European four-star general. This headquarters is responsible, among other things, for NATO's eastern flank from Estonia to Hungary.
The economic impact of the Brunssum NATO base on the region is great. Research by the Industrial Bank LIOF (Limburg Institute for Development & Financing) and the Chamber of Commerce South Limburg showed that the staff working at the base spends more than 100 million euros per year in the region. In addition, HQ JFCBS purchases 21 million euros in goods and services locally every year and indirectly creates more than 1,100 jobs.
The Brunssum delegation consisted of mayor Van der Rijt, aldermen Janssen, Van Dijk, Hermans and Van Leusden, municipal secretary Evers and municipal directors Kavsek and Van de Roer.