Netherlands Armed Forces

The Netherlands Armed Forces (Dutch: Nederlandse krijgsmacht) are the military forces of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (mainland Netherlands in Europe and islands of the Dutch Caribbean). The armed forces consist of four service branches: the Royal Netherlands Navy (Koninklijke Marine), the Royal Netherlands Army (Koninklijke Landmacht), the Royal Netherlands Air and Space Force (Koninklijke Luchtmacht) and the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee (Koninklijke 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. Supreme command of the armed forces is determined in Article 97 of the constitution, which states "The Government shall have supreme authority over the armed forces". Service members swear allegiance to the King in his role as head of state. The military ranks of the Netherlands armed forces are similar to those of fellow NATO member states and were established by Royal Decree. The highest-ranking officer in the Dutch military is the Chief of Defence, who is a four-star officer (NATO OF-9). After initial cooperation with the German army in 1995 through a Münster-located corps and increasing cross-linking during the following decades, all three Royal Netherlands Army combat brigades have fully integrated into German divisions as of March 2023. In 2024 the Netherlands Armed Forces was awarded the Wateler Peace Prize.