Written by Captain Marian Corbe, German Army, CIMIC COE Thursday, 14 February 2013 09:55
On February 13th the command of the CIMIC (Civil Military Cooperation) Centre of Excellence (COE) was handed over from German Army Colonel Hans-Jürgen Kasselmann to The Netherlands Colonel Wiebe Baron.
The centre is multinational sponsored and NATO accredited. Its goal is to provide added value, innovative and timely advice, and subject matter expertise on CIMIC for both civilian and military customers. The primary focuses of the organisation's efforts are in enhanced education and training along with conceptual and doctrinal development.
The Change of Command ceremony took place in Enschede, The Netherlands and was conducted by two Flag officers of the framework nations, German Lieutenant General Engelhardt and The Netherlands Rear-Admiral Bauer as well as Denmark Lieutenant-Colonel Primdahl , who is the Chairman of the CCOE's Coordinating Committee.
After more than 40 years of service in various multinational functions that culminated in the position as director of the CCOE, Colonel Kasselmann will be retiring from active duty by the end of the month. Lieutenant-General Engelhardt commended Colonel Kasselmann for his never-ending engagement and his multiple career achievements before fulfilling the official retirement act.
Honoring his achievements for the CCOE, Rear-Admiral Bauer awarded Colonel Kasselmann with the Dutch Order of Merit in Silver. Colonel Baron, the new front man of the CCOE, also looks back on a distinguished career, characterised by several multinational positions. Furthermore, he served on prominent position as aide-de-camp to Her Majesty the Queen of The Netherlands.
With the change of command ceremony the CCOE followed its sequence of sharing the director's position between the two framework nations Germany and The Netherlands on a rotational basis.