Dates: 1966 -
Headquarters Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum is established on the structures of former Headquarters Allied Forces Central Europe or HQ AFCENT and its successor Regional Headquarters Allied Forces North Europe or RHQ AFNORTH. As a result of the French decision in 1966 not to participate in the integrated military structure of NATO anymore, Headquarters AFCENT came to Brunssum in 1966 and settled in the premises of the former coal mine State Mine Hendrik, the Emma Mine and the Tapijn Barracks in Maastricht. The official inauguration took place on 1 June 1967. So this year exactly 40 years ago. In 2000 the headquarters changed its name into Regional Headquarters AFNORTH following a NATO Military Command Structure reorganisation. In October 2004 another major NATO restructuring altered the focus and name of this headquarters and changed it into Allied Joint Force Command Headquarters Brunssum, JFC HQ Brunssum.
Composition JFC HQ Brunssum and its community:
National Representation: At present 23 of the 26 NATO Nations are represented in JFC HQ Brunssum.
These nations are: Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States.
Not represented in the headquarters are Iceland, Luxemburg and Portugal.
The total number of staff in the international headquarters is approximately 500. Additionally we count 300 staff in the Headquarters Support Group and some 600 at NCSA Sector Brunssum. If we add the national delegations this would total approximately 1700 people. Also in the JFC Community you will find the staff and families of NATO’s Airborne Early Warning and Control Programme Management Agency, NAPMA: app. 150 and the staff of the International School also app 150. In total the International Community counts some 2000 families or a group of some 6000 people.
