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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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  • September 21, 2012

    Schweinfurt flexes combat capability muscle with NATO exercise

    Despite its announced closure earlier this year, the U.S. Army garrison here still has something to prove: Pitted between closing and remaining operational, it can also host a large-scale NATO exercise in its own backyard.
  • July 27, 2012

    Heavy Airlift Wing Champions Partnerships; marks 3rd Anniversary

    The vision three years ago was to bring twelve nations together with a common goal and commitment to bring Strategic Airlift Capability to allies across the globe.
  • June 11, 2012

    International Distinguished Visitors Attend BALTOPS 2012 Training Scenario

    Maritime forces participating in Baltic Operations (BALTOPS) 2012, the largest multinational maritime exercise this year in the Baltic Sea, demonstrated a land, sea and air amphibious operation for international distinguished visitors here, June 11.
  • June 2, 2012

    BALTOPS Kicks Off 40th Year

    Maritime forces from 12 countries are participating in the 40th annual multinational, naval exercise in the Baltic Sea June 1-16.
  • May 31, 2012

    US, NATO camp design concepts

    More than 50 students from six NATO countries attended a four-day engineering course, the week of May 15 at the Wiesbaden Entertainment Center, designed to teach the basic development, planning, execution, and closure processes of a base camp downrange.
  • 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.

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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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  • June 3, 2012

    U.S. Army Europe Band at Sainte-Mere-Eglise, France

    U.S., German, French, Dutch and British troops commemorate the 68th anniversary of D-Day during the events held in Sainte-Mere-Eglise, France, June 3, 2012.
  • June 3, 2012

    U.S. military paratroopers jump near La Fiere Bridge

    U.S., German, French, Dutch and British troops commemorate the 68th anniversary of D-Day during the events held in Sainte-Mere-Eglise, France, June 3, 2012.
  • June 3, 2012

    D-Day 2012 from a paratroopers perspective

    See U.S. paratroopers jump from a C-130J at the La Fiere drop zone near Sainte-Mere-Eglise, France, June 3, 2012, to honor the 68th anniversary of D-Day. Paratroopers from France, Germany, the Netherlands and the U.K. also participated in the jump.
  • May 29, 2012

    USACE Hosts NATO Troops for Base Camp Course

    More than 50 students from Germany, USA, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy and Greece attended the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Base Camp Development Planning Course at the Wiesbaden Entertainment Center in Germany, May 15-18. The course is designed to teach planning, location selection, land use, facility requirements development, general site planning, design guide and programming, maintaining, and clean up and closing of a base camp. In addition to base camp information, the course gave basic information about refugee camps.
  • May 22, 2012

    A cemetery in Margraten

    When a service member dies overseas it’s tradition to bring the body back to the home front. But, during WWII that wasn’t always an option. Many troops are laid to rest in American cemeteries throughout Europe. SGT Joshua Blair tells us how service members are cared for here at the American cemetery in Margraten, Natherlands.
  • 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.