Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum
| Joint Force Command Brunssum | |
|---|---|
| File:JFC-B.png HQ JFC Brunssum insignia | |
| Active | AFCENT: 1953-2000 RHQ AFNORTH: 2000-2004 JFC-Brunssum: 2004-present |
| Allegiance |  North Atlantic Treaty Organization |
| Part of | Allied Command Operations, Casteau, Belgium |
| Headquarters | Brunssum, Netherlands |
| Motto(s) | Many Nations: One Mission |
| Commanders | |
| Commander | General Salvatore Farina, Italian Army |
| Deputy Commander | Lieutenant general Fernando Alejandre, Spanish Army |
| Chief of Staff | Lieutenant general Janusz Adamczak, Polish Army |
| Command Sergeant Major | Chief warrant officer Joe Ramsay, Canadian Army |
The Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum is a NATO command at Brunssum, the Netherlands.
History
Originally the command was known as Headquarters, Allied Forces Central Europe (AFCENT) when it was activated in August 1953 in Fontainebleau, outside Paris, France.[1]
After General Dwight D. Eisenhower was appointed as Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) in 1950, he found that devising command arrangements in the Central Region, which contained the bulk of NATO’s forces, was to be complicated.[2] General Eisenhower considered naming an overall Commander-in-Chief (CINC) for the Central Region but soon realized it would be difficult to find an arrangement that would satisfy all three major powers with forces in the Centre - the United States, United Kingdom and France - because their views on the proper relationship of air and ground power differed significantly.
Drawing upon his Second World War experience, Eisenhower decided to retain overall control himself and did not appoint a CINC for the Central Region. Instead there would be three separate commanders-in-chief (for Allied Air Forces Central Europe, Allied Land Forces Central Europe and Flag Officer Central Europe (FLAGCENT), all reporting directly to SACEUR. Vice Admiral Robert Jaujard of the French Navy was appointed as Flag Officer Central Europe, and served from 2 April 51 until 20 August 1953.[3] On 20 August 1953 General Ridgeway, Eisenhower's successor, established a single Commander-in-Chief (CINCENT) for the region with subordinate land, air and naval commanders (COMLANDCENT, COMAIRCENT, and COMNAVCENT respectively).[1]
One of the command's exercises in the 1950s was Operation Counter Punch. Counter Punch was a September 1957 AFCENT air-ground military exercise that also tested NATO's integrated air-defense system in its central European front. The exercise involved the national air-defense systems of Britain, France, Belgium and the Netherlands, with Général d'Armée Jean-Étienne Valluy, French Army, NATO's Commander-in-Chief Allied Forces Central Europe (CINCENT), in overall command.[4] Operation Counter Punch revealed deficiencies in the Integrated NATO Air Defense System as well as air force responsiveness to theoretical Soviet and Warsaw Pact ground advances.[5]
After July 1962 and the establishment of Commander Allied Forces Baltic Approaches (COMBALTAP), German naval forces were shifted into that command.[2] Thereafter there was no longer any need for the small headquarters of Allied Naval Forces Central Europe and its two subordinate commands, and they were disestablished in 1962, leaving naval liaison provided by a US naval officer.[1]
AFCENT remained in France under French command until 1967, when France removed itself from the military command structure. The headquarters was moved to Brunssum in 1967 and activated under German command.[1]
In 2000, the deactivation of Headquarters, Allied Forces Northern Europe (AFNORTH) in Kolsås, Norway led to the redesignation of AFCENT as Regional Headquarters, Allied Forces Northern Europe (RHQ AFNORTH). The headquarters operated as RHQ AFNORTH until 2004, when it was renamed Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum (JFC-B) to add flexibility to the military command structure by removing regional restrictions.[6]
Circa 2010, JFC Brussum appears to be responsible for Contingency Plan Eagle Guardian, NATO's Article 5 plan to defend Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia.[7]
Facilities
Hendrik van Nassau-Ouwerkerk Camp
Hendrik van Nassau-Ouwerkerk Camp is the headquarters and main base area of JFC Brunssum.[8] Other organizations located on Hendrik van Nassau-Ouwerkerk Camp are the NATO Communication and Information Systems Services Agency, Sector Brunssum (NCSA-B)[9] and the NATO Airborne Early Warning & Control Programme Management Agency (NAPMA).[10]
Hendrik van Nassau-Ouwerkerk Camp also boasts an all ranks club called Club 13, a small tax-free department store called the B&S Store, a film theatre, a swimming pool, tennis courts and a gymnasium. Additional services are provided by the AAFES on US Army Garrison Schinnen.
Static War Headquarters Castlegate
Static War Headquarters Castlegate is a NATO command and communications bunker located approximately 2 km north-east of the town of Linnich, Germany.[11] SWHQ Castlegate is operated in caretaker status by a German military contingent.[12]
Subordinate Commands in 1989
During the Cold War, AFCENT commanded the following units:
- Allied Command Europe, in Mons, Belgium
- Allied Forces Central Europe (AFCENT), in Brunssum, Netherlands
- Northern Army Group (NORTHAG), in JHQ Rheindahlen, West Germany
- Central Army Group (CENTAG), in Heidelberg, West Germany
- Allied Air Forces Central Europe (AAFCE), in Ramstein Air Base, West Germany
- Second Allied Tactical Air Force (2 ATAF)
- Fourth Allied Tactical Air Force (4 ATAF)
- Allied Forces Central Europe (AFCENT), in Brunssum, Netherlands
The III CUS orps was allocated as NORTHAG reserve. On activation, it would have deployed to Europe from bases in the United States. A forward element, 3rd Brigade, US 2nd Armored Division, was located at Garlstedt, Germany.[13] US III Corps also maintained a forward headquarters at Tapijn Kazerne, Maastricht, Netherlands.[14]
Commanders
The commander of JFC-B is known as Commander, Joint Force Command Brunssum. The position was formerly known as Commander-in-Chief North (CINCNORTH) and Commander-in-Chief Central (CINCCENT). JFC-B is normally commanded by a German General but now is commanded by an Italian four-star general for the great contribution of the Italian armed forces to NATO. The current commander is General Salvatore Farina of the Italian Army.
| Name | From | To | Title of Command |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alphonse Juin (FR) | 20 August 1953 | September 1956 | - |
| Jean-Etienne Valluy (FR) | October 1956 | May 1960 | Commander in Chief, Allied Forces Central Europe |
| Maurice Challe (FR) | May 1960 | February 1961 | Commander in Chief, Allied Forces Central Europe |
| Pierre-Élie Jacquot (FR) | March 1961 | December 1963 | Commander in Chief, Allied Forces Central Europe |
| Jean Albert Emile Crépin (FR) | December 1963 | June 1966 | Commander in Chief, Allied Forces Central Europe; from July 1, 1966 France was no longer part of NATO's military command structure |
| Johann Adolf Graf von Kielmansegg (GER) | 15 March 1967 | 1 April 1968 | Commander in Chief, Allied Forces Central Europe |
| Jürgen Bennecke (GER) | 1 July 1968 | 30 September 1973 | Commander in Chief, Allied Forces Central Europe |
| Ernst Ferber (GER) | 1 October 1973 | 30 September 1975 | Commander in Chief, Allied Forces Central Europe |
| Karl Schnell (GER) | 1 October 1975 | 7 January 1977 | Commander in Chief, Allied Forces Central Europe |
| Franz-Joseph Schulze (GER) | 7 January 1977 | 30 September 1979 | Commander in Chief, Allied Forces Central Europe |
| Ferdinand von Senger und Etterlin (GER) | 1 October 1979 | 28 September 1983 | Commander in Chief, Allied Forces Central Europe |
| Leopold Chalupa (GER) | 28 September 1983 | 1 October 1987 | Commander in Chief, Allied Forces Central Europe |
| Hans-Henning von Sandrart (GER) | 1 October 1987 | 27 September 1991 | Commander in Chief, Allied Forces Central Europe |
| Henning von Ondarza (GER) | 27 September 1991 | 23 March 1994 | Commander in Chief, Allied Forces Central Europe |
| Helge Hansen (GER) | 1 April 1994 | March 1996 | Commander in Chief, Allied Forces Central Europe |
| Dieter Stöckmann (GER) | March 1996 | 30 March 1998 | Commander in Chief, Allied Forces Central Europe |
| Joachim Spiering (GER) | 30 March 1998 | March 2001 | until March 3, 2000 Commander in Chief, Allied Forces Central Europe; aftermath Commander in Chief Allied Forces North Europe |
| Sir Jack Deverell (GB) | March 2001 | January 2004 | Commander in Chief Allied Forces North Europe |
| Gerhard W. Back (GER) | January 2004 | 26 January 2007 | until July 1, 2004 Commander in Chief Allied Forces North Europe; aftermath Commander, Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum |
| Egon Ramms (GER) | 26 January 2007 | 29 September 2010 | Commander, Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum |
| Wolf-Dieter Langheld (GER) | 29 September 2010 | 14 December 2012 | Commander, Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum |
| Hans-Lothar Domröse (GER) | 14 December 2012 | 3 March 2016 | Commander, Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum |
| Salvatore Farina (ITA) | 4 March 2016 | --- | Commander, Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum |
References
- ^ a b c d "Allied Forces Central Europe". Retrieved 21 June 2014.
- ^ a b Dr Gregory Pedlow, Evolution of NATO's Command Structure
- ^ North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Senior officials in the NATO military structure, from 1949 to 2001 (PDF)
- ^ "Emergency Call". Time. 30 September 1957. Retrieved 3 October 2008.
- ^ Trauschweizer, Igor (2006). Creating Deterrence for Limited War: The U.S. Army and the Defense of West Germany, 1953–1982 (PDF). College Park, Maryland: University of Maryland. p. 179. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
- ^ "What is JFC Brunssum?". NATO. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
- ^ Wikileaks/The Guardian, search Eagle Guardian
- ^ AFNORTH: About us Archived October 10, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ NATO Communication and Information Systems Services Agency Archived July 10, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "NAPMA | NATO AEW&C Programme Management Agency | Homepage". Napma.nato.int. Retrieved 2013-04-07.
- ^ "Militärstandorte um und in Aachen". Users.cuci.nl. Retrieved 2013-04-07.
- ^ Joint Force Command Brunssum Team [dead link]
- ^ Isby/Kamps, Armies of NATO's Central Front, Jane's Publishing Company, 1985, p.373, 455, ISBN 0-7106-0341-X
- ^ U.S. Military Forces and Installations in Europe, publishing date 1980s, p. 20 - 30 ish