Press release NATO
Brunssum, 14 Mar 2023
Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum (JFCBS) hosted just over 30 PPE-John Stuart Mill College international students from the Free University of Amsterdam, 14th March, 2023.
The students received a command briefing, a military organisational structure briefing and a tour of the camp, officially known as the Hendrik van Nassau Ouwerkerk Camp.
Headquarters JFCBS (HQ JFCBS) is one of NATO’s most important military headquarters, responsible for directing operations in time of crisis. JFCBS is the only Operational-level headquarters in the NATO structure under the command of a European General.
HQ JFCBS came to be in Brunssum after President Charles de Gaulle of France withdrew his nation from the military branch of NATO in the mid-1960s. As a result, all NATO headquarters then in France had to find a new home. At the same time, the Dutch province of Limburg was facing the closure of 12 operational coalmines in the region. Both national and provincial governments were eager to ensure continued employment opportunities for the area. Because of their campaign, the NATO headquarters, formerly based in Fontainebleau, France, chose to move to Brunssum instead of the German city of Aachen.
JFC Brunssum has a significant economic impact on the surrounding region. Research by the Limburg Institute for Development and Financing and the South Limburg Chamber of Commerce has shown that personnel working at the base spend more than 120 million euros a year in the local economy. Each year, JFCBS itself purchases over 21 million euros in goods and services and creates more than 1,100 jobs in the Brunssum community.
Source press release NATO: NATO JFC Brunssum | Free University of Amsterdam Visits NATO HQ Brunssum.
Photo credits: NATO JFC Brunssum- Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum (https://jfcbs.nato.int/default) Twitter @NATOJFCBS