Tom Middendorp

Last updated

Tom Middendorp
Tom Middendorp 2015 (1).jpg
Middendorp in 2015
Chief of Defence
In office
28 June 2012 3 October 2017

Thomas Antonius Middendorp (born 6 September 1960) is a retired general of the Royal Netherlands Army. He served as Chief of Defence of the Armed forces of the Netherlands from 28 June 2012 until 3 October 2017. [1] He previously served as the commander of Task Force Uruzgan part of the International Security Assistance Force from 2 February 2009 until 3 August 2009. [2]

Contents

Early life

Middendorp was born on 6 September 1960 in Rheden in the Province of Gelderland.

Military career

Middendorp joined the Dutch Army in 1979, attending officers training at the Koninklijke Militaire Academie in Breda. Opting to join the Engineering Corps, he followed up his academy training with an additional one-year course at the Engineering Training Centre in Vught.

Having completed his training, Middendorp was posted to Ermelo in 1984 where he was given command of an armored engineering unit. He held this command for two years, after which (in 1986) he was transferred to Breda. He was posted to the Defence Real Estate Management Agency regional directorate as head of the project management agency. In 1989 he was transferred to the Dutch Army base in Seedorf, where he assumed the command of the B company, 41st Engineering Battalion.

From 1992 to 1994 Middendorp attended Command School (in Dutch): Hogere Militaire Vorming. Following this training he was posted to the Army staff and put in charge of developing and implementing new real estate management policy in light of the deactivation of the Dutch draft. Completing this posting Middendorp attended the United States Army Command and General Staff College starting in 1996.

In 1997 Middendorp was assigned the post of military assistant to the Deputy Chief of the Netherlands Defence Staff. Following this posting he was reassigned to Münster in 1999, as chief of the National Planning Bureau for the I. German/Dutch Corps. He held this post until 2001, when he was given command of the 101 Engineering Battalion in Wezep. As first commander of this battalion he was responsible for setting up the battalion and during the next 2+12 years commanded it through missions in Bosnia-Hercegovina, the Republic of Macedonia and Iraq.

Following this command, Middendorp was promoted to colonel and posted to the Ministry of Defence as policy coordinator for the chief director of general affairs. In this posting he advised the minister of defence on national deployment of the armed forces and established several cooperation agreements between the Ministry of Defence and other ministries.

Towards the end of 2006, Middendorp was posted overseas for his first tour in Afghanistan, as Senior Political Advisor and Deputy NATO Senior Civil Representative (SCR). Mid-2007 he did a short stint with the Dutch Army Command as head of the Command Support Department; he was given command of the 13th Mechanised Brigade in Oirschot on 11 January 2008.

He was posted back to Afghanistan in February 2009 as commanding officer of the multinational Task Force Uruzgan (TFU6, specifically). Returning to the Netherlands he was promoted to major-general in August 2009, and was appointed director of operations of the Royal Netherlands Defence Staff on 24 December.

Middendorp (right) and King Willem-Alexander (centre), 2014 Koning en strijdkrachten-1.jpg
Middendorp (right) and King Willem-Alexander (centre), 2014

The minister of defence announced Middendorp's selection as next chief of defence on 28 September 2011. In preparation for his new role, Middendorp was promoted lieutenant general on 1 January 2012 and placed in charge of projects and operations at the Defence Staff. He was promoted Four-star general on 28 June 2012, the date on which general Peter van Uhm transferred command of the Netherlands Defence Staff to him.

In 2014 he carried the sword of state during the inauguration of Willem-Alexander in his capacity as Chief of Defense.

On 28 February 2017 Middendorp was appointed an honorary Officer of the Order of Australia (AO). He was invested by the Governor General of Australia Sir Peter Cosgrove.

On 11 January 2018 King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands appointed Middendorp as adjutant in extraordinary service of the King. [3]

Resignation

Middendorp resigned on 3 October 2017 following the publication of a critical report into the death of two Dutch soldiers in a training accident in Mali [4] and the resignation of Minister of Defence Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert. [1] [5] Lieutenant admiral Rob Bauer took on as Chief of Defence.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Netherlands Armed Forces</span> Combined military forces of the Netherlands

The Netherlands Armed Forces are the military forces of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The armed forces consist of four service branches: the Royal Netherlands Navy, the Royal Netherlands Army, the Royal Netherlands Air Force and the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee. The service branches are supplemented by various joint support organizations. In addition, local conscript forces exist on the Dutch Caribbean islands of Aruba and Curaçao. These operate under the auspices of the Royal Netherlands Navy and the Netherlands Marine Corps. The armed forces are part of the Ministry of Defence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belgian Armed Forces</span> Combined military forces of Belgium

The Belgian Armed Forces is the national military of Belgium. The King of the Belgians is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces. The Belgian Armed Forces was established after Belgium became independent in October 1830. Since then, the Belgian armed forces have fought in World War I, World War II, the Cold War, Kosovo, Rwanda, Somalia and Afghanistan. The Armed Forces comprise five branches: the Land Component, the Air Component, the Naval Component, the Medical Component and the Cyber Component.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stanisław Maczek</span> Polish general (1892–1994)

Lieutenant General Stanisław Maczek was a Polish tank commander of World War II, whose division was instrumental in the Allied liberation of France, closing the Falaise pocket, resulting in the destruction of 14 German Wehrmacht and SS divisions. A veteran of World War I, the Polish–Ukrainian and Polish–Soviet Wars, Maczek was the commander of Poland's only major armoured formation during the September 1939 campaign, and later commanded a Polish armoured formation in France in 1940. He was the commander of the famous 1st Polish Armoured Division, and later of the I Polish Army Corps under Allied Command in 1942–45.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Netherlands Army</span> Land branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces

The Royal Netherlands Army is the land branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. Though the Royal Netherlands Army was raised on 9 January 1814, its origins date back to 1572, when the Staatse Leger was raised making the Dutch standing army one of the oldest in the world. It fought in the Napoleonic Wars, World War II, the Indonesian War of Independence and the Korean War, as well as served with NATO on the Cold War frontiers in West Germany from the 1950s to the 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Multi National Base Tarin Kot</span> Temporary Dutch military base on the outskirts of Tarinkot

Multi National Base Tarin Kot is a former International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) installation, used after the Netherlands Armed Forces' departure by the Afghan National Army. The base was located on the outskirts of Tarinkot, the capital of Uruzgan Province in southern Afghanistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Task Force Uruzgan</span> Dutch military operation

Task Force Uruzgan (TFU) was Australia's and the Netherlands' contribution to NATO's Regional Command South, International Security Assistance Force, in Afghanistan. The Dutch led one of the four Provincial Reconstruction Teams in the southern region of the country. Mandated by the Dutch Parliament in February 2006, between 1,200 to 1,400 Dutch military were tasked to maintain order in Uruzgan Province through July 2010. They were also to develop political and economic infrastructure and to train the Afghan National Police.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ministry of Defence (Netherlands)</span> Dutch government ministry

The Ministry of Defence is the Dutch ministry responsible for the armed forces of the Netherlands and veterans' affairs. The ministry was created in 1813 as the Ministry of War and in 1928 was combined with the Ministry of the Navy. After World War II in the ministries were separated again, in this period the Minister of War and Minister of the Navy were often the same person and the state secretary for the Navy was responsible for daily affairs of the Royal Netherlands Navy. In 1959 the ministries were merged once again. The ministry is headed by the Minister of Defence, currently Ruben Brekelmans, assisted by the Chief of the Defence, Onno Eichelsheim.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ton van Loon</span>

Ton van Loon is a commander from the Netherlands. He is a Lieutenant General employed by NATO who took control of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), Regional Command South (RC-S) on November 1, 2006, until May 1, 2007. From April 13, 2010, until September 25, 2013, he commanded I. German/Dutch Corps. He is married and has two children.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter van Uhm</span> Dutch general

Petrus Johannes Mathias "Peter" van Uhm is a retired Royal Netherlands Army general. He served as Chief of Defence of the Armed forces of the Netherlands from 17 April 2008 until 28 June 2012. He previously served as the Commander of the Royal Netherlands Army from 5 September 2005 until 13 March 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dick Berlijn</span>

General Dick Lodewijk Berlijn is a retired Royal Netherlands Air Force four-star general, who served as Chief of Defence of the Netherlands from 2004, when he succeeded Lt. Adm. Luuk Kroon, until 2008, when he was succeeded by Gen. Peter van Uhm. In 2005, the post was renamed from Chef-Defensiestaf to Commandant der Strijdkrachten following a reorganisation, but the term "Chief of Defence Staff" is still the one usually used in English translations. His office saw Dutch military presence in Uruzgan with ISAF, as well as naval contributions to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, among other interventions. He has been awarded with the Légion d'honneur and the Legion of merit, and the Order of Orange-Nassau, all in the degree of commander, and the Order of Orange-Nassau with swords. Berlijn graduated from the Koninklijke Militaire Academie in 1973.

The 11 Air Assault Brigade is the rapid light infantry brigade of the Royal Netherlands Army, focused on conducting air assault operations. Troops of the brigade are qualified to wear the maroon beret upon completion of the demanding training course, those qualified as military parachutists wear the appropriate parachutist wings. The brigade received the name "7 December" when the First Division "7 December" was disbanded in 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marco Kroon</span> Member of the Military Order of William

Major Marinus Johannes "Marco" Kroon, RMWO, is a Dutch officer serving with the Korps Commandotroepen. Kroon is one of only three living knights 4th class of the Military Order of William and the first new member appointed to this Dutch Order in over half a century. The Military William Order is the highest honour in the Netherlands, bestowed for "performing excellent acts of Bravery, Leadership and Loyalty in battle".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rob Bertholee</span> Head of the General Intelligence and Security Service (2011–2018)

Robert Antonius Cornelis "Rob" Bertholee is a retired lieutenant general of the Royal Netherlands Army who served the head of the General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD) from 2011 to 2018. He previously was Commander of the Royal Netherlands Army from 2008 to 2011. Born in Haarlem, Bertholee is married and has one daughter.

Lieutenant General (retired) J.A. (Tony) van Diepenbrugge is a former officer of the Royal Netherlands Army. He served in Lebanon and Bosnia-Hercegovina, held several positions throughout the Army and was Corps Commander of the I. German/Dutch Corps.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leanne van den Hoek</span>

Brigadier General Leanne van den Hoek is an officer of the Royal Netherlands Army. She is the first woman to hold a flag officer rank in the Dutch military. She is married, but has chosen not to have any children.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marc van Uhm</span>

General Marc van Uhm is a two-star general in the Royal Netherlands Army and served as its deputy commander.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rob Bauer</span> Dutch 4-star Admiral (born 1962)

Robert Peter Bauer is an officer of the Royal Netherlands Navy who has been serving as Chair of the NATO Military Committee since June 2021, succeeding Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach of the Royal Air Force of the United Kingdom. He previously served as the Chief of Defence from October 2017 to April 2021, and as the Vice Chief of Defence of the Netherlands of the from 1 September 2015 to 13 July 2017. Bauer was also involved in counter-terrorist and anti-piracy operations in the Mediterranean Sea, and in the Horn of Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Onno Eichelsheim</span>

Onno Eichelsheim is a general in the Royal Netherlands Air Force serving as Chief of Defence of the Netherlands Armed Forces since 15 April 2021. Prior to his post, he served as the Vice Chief of Defence from 1 July 2019 to 8 March 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leo Beulen</span> Dutch army commander from 2016 to 2019 (born 1960)

Leo Beulen is a retired Dutch Lieutenant-general, who served as 4th Commander of the Royal Netherlands Army between 24 March 2016 until his retirement in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wade Stothart</span> Australian army officer

Major General Wade Bradley Stothart, is a senior officer in the Australian Army. He joined the army via the Australian Defence Force Academy in 1987 and was commissioned into the Royal Australian Infantry Corps. He has commanded the 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (2007–09), ANZAC Battle Group (2008) and Combined Team Uruzgan (2013), and deployed on operations to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Timor-Leste as part of Operations Tanager and Astute, and to Afghanistan and Kuwait. He was appointed Head People Capability in December 2021.

References

  1. 1 2 "Commandant der Strijdkrachten legt functie neer" [Commander of the Armed Forces puts down function] (in Dutch). Netherlands Ministry of Defence. 3 October 2017.
  2. (in Dutch) Middendorp opvolger Van Uhm, NOS, 28 September 2012
  3. "Koning benoemt Middendorp tot adjudant" (in Dutch). Netherlands Ministry of Defence. 11 January 2018. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
  4. Mali: 2 Peacekeepers Die in Crash, The Associated Press via The New York Times, March 17, 2015
  5. "Dutch defense minister resigns over peacekeepers' deaths in Mali". Reuters. 3 October 2017.
Official
Military offices
Preceded by Commander of the 13th Light Brigade
2008–2009
Succeeded by
Preceded by Commander of Task Force Uruzgan
2009
Succeeded by
Preceded by Chief of Defence of the Armed forces of the Netherlands
2012–2017
Succeeded by