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Netherlands

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Capital: Amsterdam
Area: 41,543 sq km
Comparative area: slightly less than twice the size of New Jersey
Population (July 2011 estimate): 16,847,007
Official language(s): Dutch and Frisian
International Organizations and Agreements: United Nations, NATO, European Union, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), World Trade Organization (WTO)


The U.S. partnership with the Netherlands is one of its oldest continuous relationships, dating back to the American Revolution. The excellent bi-lateral relations are based on close historical and cultural ties as well as a shared dedication to individual freedom and human rights. The United States and the Netherlands share many national security objectives and frequently engage bi-laterally and multi-laterally via the United Nations and NATO.

The United States and the Netherlands joined NATO as charter members in 1949. The Dutch fought alongside the United States in the Korean War and the first Gulf War; have been and are active in global peacekeeping efforts in the Balkans, Afghanistan, and Iraq; played a leading role in the 1999 Kosovo air campaign; support and participate in NATO training efforts in Iraq, ISAF police training efforts in Afghanistan, NATO mission in Libya, and counter-piracy operations.

Dutch foreign policy is geared to promoting a wide variety of goals: the rule of law, human rights, and democracy. Priority is given to enhancing European integration, ensuring European security and stability. The Netherlands has traditionally been one of the world's most generous aid donors and are the fifth largest aid donor in relative terms and the eighth largest in absolute terms. The Dutch work closely with the United States and other countries on international programs to combat drug trafficking and organized crime. There is close Dutch-U.S. cooperation on joint counternarcotics operations in the Caribbean.
 

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  • April 30, 2012

    SDDC’s 598th Transportation Brigade relocates to Germany

    The 598th Transportation Brigade Headquarters and 838th Transportation Battalion Headquarters, both elements of the Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command, will relocate from Rotterdam, The Netherlands, to the Kaiserslautern Military Community in Germany.
  • February 27, 2012

    This Week in EUCOM History: February 27 - March 4, 1991

    Ther Persian Gulf war officially ended on Feb. 28, 1991
  • January 30, 2012

    This Week in EUCOM History: January 30 - February 5, 1953

    The 1953 North Sea flood was a major flood caused by a heavy storm that occurred on the night of Saturday, Jan. 31, and morning of Feb. 1, 1953. The floods struck the Netherlands, Belgium, England and Scotland.
  • January 24, 2012

    Dutch Defense Minister Visits Fort Hood

    Dutch Defense Minister Hans Hillen came to Fort Hood Jan. 10 to meet with his troops training here under the 21st Cavalry Brigade (Air Combat).
  • December 19, 2011

    HAW reaches 6,000 flight hours

    After 29 months of operation by the multinational Heavy Airlift Wing team, U.S. Air Force Major Brian Nicosia and his flightcrew passed the 6,000 flight-hours milestone of C-17 Globemaster IIIs assigned to Papa Air Base, Hungary.
  • December 16, 2010

    Deputy 6th Fleet Commander Speaks At Counter Piracy Workshop

    THE HAGUE, Netherland – Rear Adm. James Foggo, deputy commander, U.S. 6th Fleet, arrived in The Hague, Netherlands Dec. 14, to speak at a international workshop dedicated to the creation of a unified manual to use when investigating and prosecuting acts of maritime piracy.
  • October 18, 2010

    USS Stout Visits the Netherlands

    The guided-missile destroyer USS Stout (DDG 55) anchored off the coast of Den Helder, Netherlands, Oct. 16, after a challenging and successful Joint Warrior 10-2.
  • October 18, 2010

    Joint Warrior Concludes; Sailors Prepared for Coalition Ops

    U.S. ships attached to Destroyer Squadron 24 successfully completed Joint Warrior 10-2 in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, Oct. 14.
  • October 5, 2010

    Joint Warrior 10-2 Kicks Off

    Exercise Joint Warrior 10-2 commenced Oct. 3, when the guided-missile destroyers USS Stout (DDG 55) and USS Bainbridge (DDG 96) departed Faslane, Scotland, and headed toward the Irish Sea.
  • September 8, 2010

    Largest communication exercise ever hosted at Grafenwoehr Training Area is a success

    About 1400 participants of more than 40 countries and organizations gathered at the Joint Multinational Simulations Center (JMSC) at Grafenwoehr Training Area for the U.S. European Command’s (EUCOM’s) exercise, Combined Endeavor 2010, the world’s largest military communications and information systems exercise, Sept. 2-16.

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  • July 6, 2011

    The Importance of Collaboration and Cooperation in 1648 and Today

    The Treaty of Westphalia, signed in 1648 in the Rathaus of Muenster, Germany, ended one of Europe’s bloodiest periods: the Thirty Years War (1618-1648) fought mostly on German soil, and 80 years of war between Spain and the Dutch Republic. Today two nations that benefitted from that peace treaty, Germany and the Netherlands (it achieved its independence as a result), are the framework nations for a multinational NATO High Readiness Corps headquartered in Muenster.
  • June 7, 2011

    Dutch Treat: Interagency Collaboration in The Hague

    These days The Hague, the Netherlands' third largest city, is most often in the news as the home of the International Criminal Court (ICC), the body that has recently indicted Muammar Gadaffi for war crimes or for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) which saw last week’s appearance of the former Bosnian Serb military general Ratko Mladic. Certainly both of these courts serve a valued purpose and The Hague -- with its history of hosting the first international peace conference in 1899 -- is a well-suited site for these courts.
  • June 28, 2010

    NATO chaplains work to be Stronger Together

    Military chaplains from Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Canada, Poland, Germany, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Italy, and the U.S. comprised the group that met at the Italian Air Force (ITAF) Headquarters for the annual NATO Air Force Chaplains Conference in Rome from June 13-18.
  • June 16, 2010

    Jumping In

    I’m finally back home after nearly two weeks on the road and it has been more than a week now since I jumped into Iron Mike Drop Zone in Normandy, France to commemorate the 66th Anniversary of D-Day.  I’ll never forget the experience –  not just because of the historic significance, but also because of those that jumped with me that day.  As you probably well know, British, Canadian and American forces jumped to secure the Allied flanks on D-Day, but personnel from Australia, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, France, Greece, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway and Poland also took part in the landings.  On D-Day 66, I hit the ground, collected my parachute, and then walked off the drop zone with British, French, Polish, Dutch, German and fellow Americans paratroopers surrounding me.  On my aircraft alone, we had Dutch, German and Polish paratroopers and I earned both the Dutch and Polish jump wings that day.    
  • September 18, 2009

    EUCOM Legal Conference

    Senior legal experts from over 30 European nations are meeting at the EUCOM International Legal Conference beginning Sep. 22, 2009,  in Garmisch, Germany.  Co-sponsored by the George C. Marshall Center, this week-long event will encourage discussion on such emerging legal questions as:  what is the military role for ensuring energy security in Europe?  What are the legal and military challenges facing the future of the Arctic/High North in the decades to come? A multinational panel will also discuss trends in Status of Forces Agreements (SOFAs).
  • April 27, 2009

    Combined Endeavor 2009

    CE – Combined Endeavor – is a large telecommunications exercise sponsored by EUCOM but planned and executed by our partner nations. This year, 2009, we are moving the exercise out of Germany for the first time in our 14 year history to Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is a big enough challenge planning this exercise, but this year we add the challenge of building a new infrastructure to support the exercise.

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  • December 11, 2009

    IED Academy

    Improvised Explosive Devices, or IEDs, are one of the biggest threats to service members downrange. To combat this problem the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany provides the most in-depth IED training in Europe.

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