Sr.Ms. Rotterdam staff member NATO squadron after virtual transfer in Amsterdam
Since this morning, the Netherlands has commanded the permanent NATO squadron SNMG1. Staff ship is Hr.Ms. Rotterdam. MarineShips.nl spoke with the brand new squadron commander-commander Ad van de Sande, in Amsterdam.
Sr.Ms. Rotterdam Friday afternoon at the Passengers Terminal in Amsterdam. (Photo: Jaime Karremann/ MarineShips.nl)
The transfer of command from Canadian Commodore Bradley Peats to Amsterdam, with the usual ceremonial. Due to the corona measures, the possibilities were very limited and instead of an actual event on the quay, via video while watching from Canada, dial-in from NATO headquarters and Van de Sande via the screen in Amsterdam was given command.
The Rotterdam did not have to sail to Amsterdam for this transfer, but the port visit had been planned for a long time and it was decided not to change this anymore.
A big smile appears on the face of Commander Van Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1). “Of course it has become with the command that I had as commander NLMARFOR over the Dutch squadron last year”, says Van de Sande, “but this is different. We are now permanently ready. Back then it was all about exercises, soon we will also practice , but as soon as there is something NATO points to us and then we are done.”
Commander Ad van de Sande. (Photo: Jaime Karremann/ MarineShips.nl)
Together with a number of other ships, the Rotterdam will form the NATO squadron and will fall under NATO’s Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF). “That means that we can be deployed immediately,” explains Van de Sande. “We are sailing and we can be deployed. The NATO Response Force, of which the Netherlands was in charge of the amphibious component last year, will follow in such a case later. They have a limited start-up time.”
Van de Sande does not yet want to say with which ships the Rotterdam will form the squadron. Until then, a lot can still change, I don’t want to share anything from the sailing programs of other NATO countries.”
On Monday the Rotterdam will go to sea again and the squadron ships will connect. The first period is dominated by ten. This applies to the ships, but also to the staff on board the staff ship. The staff members have expressed themselves recently despite the normal start of corona, gathering on board for the first time this weekend.
west, north, east
SNMG1 normally sails in the cold half of the NATO treaty area and will also be mainly found there this time. There are the specific areas on the agenda, the words of the squadron commander, who clearly do not reveal all the plans yet. “The next six months we will be in the Atlantic, the Baltic, in the arctic and we’re also going to the US East Coast. That’s the plan. It’s a nice program and I hope it will work, but we have seen in the past two years that things can change quickly.”
One of the exercises that is also on the program is Cold Response 2022. According to the Norwegian Commander of the Armed Forces, this is one of the largest NATO exercises in Norway since the 1980s. 40,000 military personnel from many countries will be training at sea, on land and in the air in the Ofoten area, with Narvik as the future site.
Corona
The uncertain factor, and every planner knows, is of course corona. There are no new measures to keep the virus out of the box, says Van de Sande, “but the normal has been vaccinated and boosted. At sea we cannot keep a distance on board, but you are in your own bubble. There are ports on the program and then we will of course comply with the local regulations, although we hope that we can also enjoy those port visits.”
What is certain is that the Rotterdam will not remain a NATO staff ship for the entire year, that ship will also be detached by one or more Dutch naval ships, says Van de Sande.
But for now, the Rotterdam, with her men and women on board, are NATO’s spearheads at sea. Admittedly abandoned during the interview coming that no wait, even if something should happen and we have to go to sea this weekend, then we go”, ship a say. But normally that will not happen until Monday and it will be landing pad dock via the North Sea Canal and IJmuiden Sea to start a new journey.