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MAGAZINE
SPRING 2020
By Lieutenant Colonel Travis DETTMER , U . S . Army , LANDCOM PAO
EUROCORPS IS READY FOR NATO RESPONSE FORCE 2020
STRASBOURG – Eurocorps officially assumed responsibility as NATO Response Force Land Component for 2020 in a ceremony at their headquarters in Strasbourg , France on Wednesday , January 8 , 2020 .
They take over for the Münster , Germany based 1st German-Netherlands Corps ( 1GNC ) who had the mission for all of 2019 .
Eurocorps assumes this responsibility for the third time with their first two rotations as the stand by unit occurring in 2006 and 2009 respectively . NATO Allied Land Command Commander , U . S . Army Lieutenant General J . T . Thomson , presided over the hand over ceremony held on Eurocorps ’ Strasbourg headquarters parade grounds .
“ We thank all the men and women of 1st German-Netherlands Corps for their incredible competence , dedication and teamwork . They advanced the NRF mission to the next level , and we are fortunate to maintain them in the stand down role for the coming year ,” said Lieutenant General Thomson .
Photos courtesy of Eurocorps
“ Lieutenant General Kolodziej and Eurocorps are exactly the right team to assume the NRF [ 2020 ] Land Component Command mission ,” said Lieutenant General Thomson . “ They have skillfully prepared for the stand by role over the past year as the stand-up Corps headquarters .”
During the ceremony 1GNC transitioned from the role as the ready stand by force – the NATO land headquarters on call to respond on short notice to a crisis , contingency , or operation – to the role of the trained stand down force .
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Lieutenant General
Kolodziej and Eurocorps are exactly the right team to assume the NRF [ 2020 ] Land Component Command mission .”