Countries of the World/COUNTRYS.BIN/dp/0036/00362.txt

Text File | 1991-06-24 | 16KB | 268 lines

$Unique_ID{COW00362}
$Pretitle{370}
$Title{Belgium
Chapter 5B.   Organization and Mission of the Armed Forces}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Peter J. Kassander}
$Affiliation{HQ, Department of the Army}
$Subject{belgian
forces
air
defense
nato
armed
units
military
medical
responsible}
$Date{1984}
$Log{Figure 14.*0036201.scf
}
Country:     Belgium
Book:        Belgium, A Country Study
Author:      Peter J. Kassander
Affiliation: HQ, Department of the Army
Date:        1984

Chapter 5B.   Organization and Mission of the Armed Forces

     The failure of Belgian neutrality in the military conflicts of
twentieth-century Europe led the post-World War II government to pursue
collective security actively and, in 1948, to establish the joint defense
system that evolved into NATO. Recognizing that individual national responses
were no longer adequate to ensure security against threats of aggression, the
government agreed to integrate most of its armed forces into a unified
military organization. Logistical support and defense of the homeland,
however, remained a national responsibility. Manpower levels have remained
relatively constant since the mid-1960s. The armed forces totaled about 93,600
in 1984, of which approximately one-third were conscripts.

     To coordinate civilian and military aspects of Belgian defense, a joint
ministerial defense committee under the direction of the prime minister is
convened when circumstances require a decision from the highest level of
government. Members of this committee include the ministers of national
defense; foreign affairs; the interior and public office; justice and
institutional reform; and communications, posts, telephones, and telegraph.

     The armed forces are under the direct authority of the minister of
defense. There are two main suborganizations of the Ministry of National
Defense: the Central Administration, which is responsible for administrative,
financial, and juridical problems; and the more important General Staff. The
chief of the General Staff is responsible to the minister of defense for the
operational readiness of the armed forces. Plans to achieve this readiness are
established in collaboration with the chiefs of staff of the three armed
forces and the head of the Medical Branch (see fig. 14).

     The General Staff has been reorganized several times since 1960, but the
organization in place in late 1984 had been in effect for 20 years. It gives
the chief of the General Staff a joint staff responsible for the coordination
of policy, planning, programs, personnel, and logistics, while the army, air
force, and naval chiefs of staff are responsible for the management of their
services. The same responsibility is entrusted to the head of the Medical
Branch, which is an interservice program.

     The armed forces are organized according to the missions they are
required to fulfill. They are within the area of responsibility of two NATO
major commands. Although the army and the air force assign personnel to
NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe, the Belgian Navy operates under the
Commander in Chief, Channel. Part of the army remains under Belgian national
authority and is referred to as the Forces of the Interior. The gendarmerie
also plays a role in the maintenance of the security of Belgian territory
(see Internal Security, this ch.)

The Army

     The army consists of two major components: the 1st Belgian Corps, which
is assigned to NATO, and the Forces of the Interior, which are responsible for
the defense of Belgian territory. The 1st Belgian Corps is deployed
operationally, having most of its units in the Federal Republic of Germany
(West Germany). The deployment of Belgian Army units in West Germany dates
back to 1945, when the Belgian brigades of the newly re-formed army took part
in military operations with the British army at the end of World War II. They
then remained as occupation forces and part of NATO (see fig. 15)

     The primary mission of the Belgian forces in West Germany is to defend
their assigned sector against attack and, with their allies, to fight in any
conflict, conventional or nuclear. The 1st Belgian Corps is composed of two
active divisions, each having three mechanized brigades in peacetime and, if
necessary, four in war. The corps has a number of supporting units. The
brigades include two armored infantry battalions, one antitank battalion, one
or two tank battalions, one artillery battalion, an engineer company, and
logistical support units.

[See Figure 14.: Levels of Command for Ministry of National Defense and for
Armed Forces Source: Based on information from John Keegan, ed., World Armies,
Detroit, 1983, 50.]

     The 1st Belgian Corps has a total strength of 34,000 in peacetime, which
can be doubled in case of war. Most of the units have been stationed in West
Germany, and many of the associated family dependents have lived outside
Belgium for more than 25 years. At one time, more than 60,000 Belgians living
in West Germany had to be supported by the military. In 1973 two of the active
brigades were reassigned to Belgian territory, one to the northern
Leopoldsburg area, the other to the southern Bastogne/Marche-en-Famenne area.
This has solved some of the immediate social problems but has also increased
the distance from assigned operational areas during training or war.

     The units of the 1st Belgian Corps have participated in a number of
annual exercises and maneuvers, and their operational readiness has been
continually maintained. Most of the equipment has been renovated or upgraded
since 1975. Although the Leopard tank was standard in the armored battalions,
various smaller armored vehicles were used by the reconnaissance units. The
antitank battalion was equipped with various light antitank weapons (LAWs) and
antitank missiles, such as the Swingfire, Milan, and the Panzerjager. Honest
John tactical missiles were being replaced by Lance missiles in 1984. The
German-manufactured Gepard antiaircraft gun system has also been added to the
antiaircraft batteries. The Epervier, an unmanned drone of Belgian
construction, has been used for battlefield surveillance. The field artillery
consisted primarily of United States-built, self-propelled guns. In 1984
Belgium agreed to purchase a number of Canadian-built four-wheel-drive jeeps
to replace existing vehicles used by the armored infantry battalions.

     The Forces of the Interior have a triple role. In peacetime they have the
responsibility of helping the 1st Belgian Corps by running training schools
and preparing for the mobilization of reserve forces. In the event of war,
they are to defend Belgian territory and protect the allied as well as
Belgian lines of communication. They also have a logistic responsibility to
the air force and the navy and supply medical assistance to the gendarmerie.
The average strength of the Forces of the Interior is 35,000, but if the
mobilized reserve is included, they would total approximately 195,000.

     The Forces of the Interior are made up of army units and in time of war
would be supplemented by local gendarmerie and reserve forces. The Regiment of
Para-Commandos, an elite, highly trained unit, supplements the Forces of the
Interior with three battalions-two airborne infantry units and one commando
unit. (The commando troops are the equivalent of the United States Rangers.)
In addition to its mission in the overall defense of Belgium, this regiment
furnishes an artillery and armored reconnaissance battalion to the NATO mobile
forces. The para-commandos are the most battle-experienced of the Belgian
armed forces, having fought in Kolwezi province in Zaire (formerly the Belgian
Congo) as recently as 1978.

The Air Force

     The Belgian Air Force plays a deterrent role as part of the NATO command
in Europe. If the land-based deterrent capability of NATO were to fail, the
air force would fight for the defense of the NATO area. Its mission would be
to participate in the overall NATO air defensive plan and give ai