On January 24 Commodore Ben Bekkering handed over command of Standing NATO Maritime Group One to Commodore George von Maltzan of the German Navy. Bekkering and his international staff had command of the fleet for one year.
The solemn hand over ceremony took place in Den Helder, the Netherlands.
Standing NATO Maritime Group One, a multinational fleet, is the maritime component of NATO’s rapid response force. Bekkering and his staff, mainly comprised of Dutch military personnel, were at sea for almost a year, receiving support from 3 Dutch flagships.
SNMG1 consists of 4 to 6 destroyers and frigates, with the Royal Canadian Navy, the Deutsche Marine (German Navy), the Koninklijke Marine (Royal Netherlands Navy), the Royal Navy (UK), and the United States Navy each contributing a ship on a permanent basis. These are joined periodically by ships from Italy, Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Poland, Portugal, and Spain. The force operates, trains and exercises as a group, providing day-to-day verification of current NATO maritime procedures, tactics and effectiveness.
Ships are usually attached to the force for up to six months, on a rotating basis. The force commander and the staff are appointed for one year, with the force commander rotating among the participating nations.
[mappress] Naval Today Staff, January 30, 2013; Image: Dutch MoD