Dutch Chief of Defense to Visit U.S.

Gestart door Lex, 20/11/2012 | 21:45 uur

Lex

Dutch Chief of Defense to Visit U.S., See Training Exercise at Fort Hood

(Washington, D.C.)— General Tom Middendorp, Chief of Defense of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, will meet General Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, when he visits the United States November 25-28.

After meeting with General Dempsey, General Middendorp will travel to Fort Hood, Texas, to observe the Joint Netherlands Training Detachment exercise and address the troops.

Approximately 150 members of the 13th Infantry Battalion Air Assault unit are participating in "American Falcon," a 5-week air assault training mission at Fort Hood. "American Falcon" includes exercises using Apache and the recently introduced new Chinook model F helicopters and ends on December 21.

Since the new Chinook arrived in Fort Hood, "American Falcon" is the first exercise with Dutch and American troops. These exercises will be conducted 5 times per year and this rotational scheme will play a major role in the readiness status of the Dutch troops. General Middendorp will mark this historical milestone and underscore the long-lasting bilateral relationship between the forces at Fort Hood. Eight Dutch Apache helicopters have been stationed at Fort Hood since their introduction in the mid-nineties.

In addition to speaking to the members of the Joint Netherlands Training Detachment at Fort Hood, General Middendorp will meet LTG Donald Campbell, Commander III Corps, and Colonel Neil Hersey, Commander of the 21 Calvary Brigade. Dutch Ambassador Rudolf Bekink will accompany General Middendorp to Fort Hood.

As Chief of Defense, General Middendorp is the highest ranking officer in the Netherlands Armed Forces and oversees the implementation of Dutch military operations in the Netherlands and around the world. The Dutch Ministry Defense, with a staff of 68,000, has almost 1,000 personnel in a number of missions abroad, including ISAF (Afghanistan) and Ocean Shield and Atalanta (combatting piracy in the Horn of Africa).

Netherlands Embassy Washington DC,
News article | November 20, 2012