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Changes for the SDDC community in Holland.


After a time of uncertainty there is light on the horizon for the Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command personnel working for the 598th Transportation Terminal Group and 838th Transportation Battalion, both located in Capelle aan den IJssel, The Netherlands.

The U.S. Army's SDDC SDDC Surface Deployment and Distribution Command (formerly Military Traffic Management Command)
SDDC Single Data Device Correction
 assets will move to the 'Van Ghentkazerne' in Rotterdam.

This relocation is primarily predicated by the reality that in today's world tighter force protection measures are required. Those increased force protection measures are the principal reason for moving the SDDC community from Capelle aan den IJssel to the Van Ghentkazerne. The office facility in Capelle aan den IJssel is located in the middle of a civilian industrial estate comprised of a printer, laundry facility, several furniture stores and various other office buildings, which surround the SDDC building.

Before the events of September 11, 2001, the SDDC building was inconspicuous in·con·spic·u·ous  
adj.
Not readily noticeable.



incon·spic
. However, after that date stricter security measures Noun 1. security measures - measures taken as a precaution against theft or espionage or sabotage etc.; "military security has been stepped up since the recent uprising"
security
 have changed the visible profile and have also required the facility to be secured by Netherlands' Armed Soldiers.

Negotiations to realize this move are ongoing. Many parties, to include, the U.S. Embassy in Den Haag, NL, the Rotterdam City and Port Authorities port authorities nplautoridades fpl portuarias , and the Netherlands' Ministry of Defense are involved in these negotiations.

"For reasons of efficiency SDDC chooses to co-locate with the Royal Netherlands' Marine Corps", said Col. Gary R. Stanley, commander of the 598th.

"Retention of the unit in the Netherlands assures the flow of goods and supplies supporting the U.S. Forces and their families throughout Europe will continue to move through commercial ports in the region for the foreseeable future," said Stanley.

Royal Netherlands Marine Corps The Korps Mariniers is the marine corps of the Netherlands and is part of the Royal Netherlands Navy. The Dutch Marine Corps is highly disciplined and trained to operate anywhere in the world under any condition.  Colonel Eric Blommestijn, commander of the van Ghentkazeme is very happy to host SDDC.

"We welcome the SDDC unit. This international cooperation in our "caserne" will be very good for our young Marines The Young Marines is a paramilitary youth program in the United States, open to children from the ages of eight years old through high school. It is a subsidiary organization of the U.S. Marine Corps.  who are deployable worldwide. We are also looking in sharing facilities which will optimize efficiency," he said.

Although office space was offered in Germany, SDDC made the decision to maintain its European headquarters in the Netherlands. This decision was based on force protection, retention of the experienced Dutch workforce, and other practical reasons that would affect the community. The high SDDC operational tempo of moving cargo through ocean ports in Europe and Southwest Asia Southwest Asia or Southwestern Asia (largely overlapping with the Middle East) is the southwestern portion of Asia. The term Western Asia is sometimes used in writings about the archeology and the late prehistory of the region, and in the United States subregion  makes it critical that personnel turbulence be kept to the minimum and by relocating within the Rotterdam community SDDC was able to retain all of their highly experienced Dutch employees.

"Since March 2004 there has been a degree of unrest among the Dutch workforce due to the projected relocation," said Pierre Hoogstad, the Dutch MoD personnel officer.

"Several places were surveyed as possible relocation sites to include various locations in Germany, Italy, and the former Eastern Block countries. It is good news that the decision has been made to move to the Van Ghentkazerne. It is really close to the present location", said Hoogstad.

"By moving to the Van Ghentkazerne we are able to combine security efforts, we keep the host nation workforce and we don't have to move our family members to a different location in a different country," said Stanley.

The Van Ghentkazerne is located only 15 minutes (about 5 KM) away from our present location.

"At this moment we follow two tracks. One track is tracing the formal approvals while the other track works with the NL and U.S. officials on a packet of requirements and the structure design following U.S. and Dutch regulations. It looks like it will take a period of at least two years," said Stanley.

The move of the SDDC community will also include tenant units: the Department of Homeland Security Noun 1. Department of Homeland Security - the federal department that administers all matters relating to homeland security
Homeland Security

executive department - a federal department in the executive branch of the government of the United States
 representatives, the United States Coast Guard United States Coast Guard

U.S. military service that enforces maritime laws. It is under the jurisdiction of the Department of Homeland Security; in wartime it functions as part of the U.S. Navy. The Coast Guard enforces federal laws on the high seas and waters within U.S.
 Activity--Europe, the Military Sealift Command A major command of the US Navy, and the US Transportation Command's component command responsible for designated common-user sealift transportation services to deploy, employ, sustain, and redeploy US forces on a global basis. Also called MSC. See also transportation component command.  Office Northern Europe, the 623rd Movement Control Team-Rotterdam, and the USAF Liaison Office.

The Van Ghentkazerne is one of the Royal Netherlands' Marine Corps barracks bar·rack 1  
tr.v. bar·racked, bar·rack·ing, bar·racks
To house (soldiers, for example) in quarters.

n.
1. A building or group of buildings used to house military personnel.
. The Caserne was built in 1946 after its previous location was destroyed in the early days of World War II. For quite a long time it has been the location where Dutch Marine recruits start their military career.

Located in the city of Rotterdam, The Caserne is named after Baron Joseph Van Ghent (1626-1672), the first Dutch Marine Commander in 1665.

Bram de Jong De Jong is the most common Dutch surname. Many people bear this name, including many important historical figures. Some of these people are mentioned below.

De Jong may mean:
  • Petrus de Jong, prime minister of the Netherlands from 1967 until 1971
 and Martin Weteling, Command Affairs Officers, 598th Transportation Group
COPYRIGHT 2005 U.S. Military Traffic Management Command
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Article Details
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Title Annotation:relocation; Surface Deployment and Distribution Command
Author:Weteling, Martin
Publication:Translog
Geographic Code:4EUNE
Date:Jan 1, 2005
Words:718
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