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Title: Peter Van Uhm's story Post by: stoffel on 18 December 2011, 20:35:23 In this link you will find a speech from Peter Van Uhm, a general in the Dutch army.
He tells for an audience why he became a soldier and why we need an army. Most reasons he gave to join the army are valid for me too. Listen close to this remarkable story! TEDxAmsterdam 2011 - Peter van Uhm (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHX5lAslnTc#ws) Title: Re: Peter Van Uhm's story Post by: Rattler on 20 December 2011, 02:13:24 ...Peter Van Uhm, a general in the Dutch army. ... Good show, and nice understatement by you... We had him here interviewed in 2009 (Spain) and he was then presented as the Dutch Chief of Defense, the "highest operational commander of the Royal Dutch Armed Forces": http://www.rnw.nl/espanol/article/la-motivaci%C3%B3n-de-peter-van-uhm-el-m%C3%A1s-alto-cargo-militar-en-holanda (http://www.rnw.nl/espanol/article/la-motivaci%C3%B3n-de-peter-van-uhm-el-m%C3%A1s-alto-cargo-militar-en-holanda) Rattler Title: Re: Peter Van Uhm's story Post by: stoffel on 21 December 2011, 18:59:46 LOL,
He has been untill 2009. We saw a significant restructuring since 2005. Before that date each armed forces component had its own staff/HQ and commanding general. After that date all staffs including the divisional staffs/ HQs have been disbanded. Nowadays we have 1 HQ and staff for the entire army. Not long ago we welcomed a new commander (CDS or Commandant der Strijdkrachten) Mart de Kruif. He took over command from general Rob Bertholee. Title: Re: Peter Van Uhm's story Post by: Rattler on 22 December 2011, 00:46:43 He [Peter van Uhm, R.] has been untill 2009. Not long ago we welcomed a new commander (CDS or Commandant der Strijdkrachten) Mart de Kruif. He took over command from general Rob Bertholee. Are you sure? With all due respect, my information differs significantly, both for the role of P. v. Uhm as well as for the role of M. d. Kruif: I still have van Uhm down pat as the Highest Commander of Dutch Armed forces, until mid 2012 when he will be relieved by Maj. General Tom Middendorp (http://www.rijksoverheid.nl/nieuws/2011/09/28/generaal-majoor-middendorp-nieuwe-commandant-der-strijdkrachten.html): Quote Nieuwsbericht | 28-09-2011 Generaal-majoor Tom Middendorp volgt medio 2012 generaal Peter van Uhm op als Commandant der Strijdkrachten. Generaal van Uhm gaat dan met leeftijdsontslag. I am basing this on the published information from the Dutch Ministry of Defense (http://www.defensie.nl/organisatie/defensie/militaire_leiding/commandant_der_strijdkrachten) in the internet, but I might be wrong of course and apologize beforehand should I have messed up things (I only follow personal organisation of European Armed Forces from a distance, German and Spanish Forces being my main focus). The Dutch Defense Ministry page states about P. v. Uhm: Quote De Commandant der Strijdkrachten is de hoogste militair binnen Defensie en daarmee de belangrijkste militaire adviseur van de minister. Hij is namens de minister verantwoordelijk voor de uitvoering van de militaire operaties van Defensie. Overall organization (on the English page) is described as follows (highlighting by me): Quote The Chief of the Netherlands Defence Staff (CDS) (Dutch: Commandant der Strijdkrachten) is the Dutch Chief of Defence and the highest-ranking officer in the Dutch military. The main role of the CDS is as an intermediary between the Minister of Defence and the Armed Forces of The Netherlands. He makes operational policy and is responsible to the minister for military-strategic planning, operations and deployment of the Armed Forces. The CDS is the direct commanding officer of the commanders of the branches of the Dutch military OTOH Lt. General Mart de Kruif I have noted down in my spreadsheet as the Commander of the Royal Dutch Army, one commander out of 4 branches, and as such a subordinate to General v. Uhm: According to the Dutch Ministry of Defense the C-LAS is the military advisor to the CDS, and the slot filled by de Kruif: Quote Luitenant-generaal De Kruif werd op 25 oktober 2011 Commandant Landstrijdkrachten (C-LAS) als opvolger van luitenant-generaal Rob Bertholee. Quote De Commandant Landstrijdkrachten (C-LAS) voert het commando over de landstrijdkrachten. Hij is 'baas' van de landmacht en verantwoordelijk voor de gereedstelling van operationele landmachteenheden. Hij is dé adviseur voor de Commandant der Strijdkrachten (CDS) als het over het optreden van de landmacht gaat. In voorkomend geval treedt hij ook in deze rol op voor bewindslieden. So I take from all this that Peter van Uhm is still currently your highest military commander in the Netherlands, and Mart De Kruif commander of (and v. Uhms´ assistant for) the Royal Netherlands Army ? Please clarify, I find myself being confused, and I thought I had a good tab on European command structures... Rattler Title: Re: Peter Van Uhm's story Post by: stoffel on 22 December 2011, 16:41:04 Pfewwww, now you have me confused to.
I will have a look at this and get back to it soon to clarify :) Title: Re: Peter Van Uhm's story Post by: stoffel on 10 January 2012, 14:17:39 Rattler,
You were right. Van Uhm is the CDS, his second in command is vice admiral Wim Nagtegaal. Van Uhm will be replaced by Van Middendorp in june. De Kruif is the highest ranking general within the landforces component. |