Contact:            0049 (0)2824 978 7400          e-mail

Country:           Germany

Locations:        Goch Community compromising JAPCC (Kalkar), CAOC Uedem and 1 NSB (Wesel)

Living:           UK Personnel and their families are housed in Service Families Accommodation (SFA) in the German town of Goch which is approximately 80 km north of Dusseldorf. Goch is a town in the district of Kleve (Kreis Kleve), in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). NRW is the largest Federal State in Germany and is situated in the western part of the country and shares its borders with Belgium and The Netherlands.

Goch, Kalkar, Uedem and Wesel are located in the beautiful Lower Rhein Region (Niederrhein) of NRW where the climate is similar to the south of England. Goch has a population of almost 35,000 and is over 750 years old.

Working

Service personnel are posted into either JAPCC Kalkar, CAOC Uedem or 1 NSB, Wesel(11, 12 and 40 km from Goch respectively). Public and host nation military transport from Goch to Kalkar/UedemWesel is limited and given the separation of SFA and work locations it is strongly recommended that all personnel and their spouses are able to drive and bring their own vehicle(s).

JAPCC and CAOC2 are part of the German Kalkar/Uedem Garrison. 1 NSB is part of the NATO Sig Bde. The Von Seydlitz Kaserne at Kalkar houses the JAPCC, the Luftwaffe Air Operations Command and some host nation support facilities. The Paulsberg Kaserne at Uedem houses the CAOC2, IDCAOC and the National Air Policing Cell (NAPC).

JAPCC             NATO’s Joint Air Power Competency Centre (JAPCC) is a centralised staff whose primary purpose is to provide innovative and timely advice and subject matter expertise, both proactively and responsively, for the transformation of Joint Air and Space power to the Alliance and Nations. JAPCC is multinationally funded and manned by some 90 personnel from 17 NATO Nations www.japcc.de.

CAOC 2            Combined Air Operations Centre (CAOC) 2 at Uedem is multinationally funded and manned by 94 personnel from 16 NATO Nations. The CAOC’s primary peacetime role is the tactical Command and Control of Quick Reaction Alert (interceptor) forces used to police NATO airspace over the Benelux countries, Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and the Baltic States. In times of crisis and conflict the CAOC would plan and task all air operations within its assigned area of operations.

1 NSB          Awaiting Picture 

HISTORY

1 NSB evolved from 227 (UK) Signal Squadron which originally moved from Fontainebleau in France to Maastricht in 1967. The Squadron was multi-national, with approximately eighty British, forty German Soldiers, and the remaining thirty from various central region NATO countries.

The role of 227 (UK) Signal Squadron was to connect two fixed wartime headquarter bunkers, and spearheaded the communications infrastructure for the allies during the Cold War.

Times of course change and soon after the falling of the Berlin wall in 1989, 227 (UK) Sig Sqn was re-designated the Alternate War Headquarters Communications Squadron (AWCS).  It continued to carry out many of the legacy roles associated with 227 Sqn and indeed expanded in many of its areas of operation.

In November 1996 our predecessors in 1 NSB deployed personnel and equipment in support of the SFOR mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

In May 1999 a Tactical Satellite Ground Terminal (TSGT) crew deployed to Durres, Albania in support of ongoing operations in Kosovo and later that year a TSGT and a Mobile Communication Module (MCM) deployed to Pristina, Kosovo to support KFOR HQ. 

It was during this time that the Battalion headquarters was formed and the foundations of the current structure of 1 NSB was built. Finally in August 2005 1st NSB officially stood up to operate in its current format.

PRESENT

The Battalion’s present strength is 452, with 60 percent German, 20 percent British and the remainder from 8 other nations. The Battalion participates in nearly all NATO exercises and is currently participating in deployments in Afghanistan and Oman.   The next year will see an expanded commitment to ISAF in support of the NCSA Mission Detachment.

UK Organisation and Support

The Senior RAF Officer (SRAFO) of the Kalkar/Uedem Isolated Detachment (ISODET) holds the rank of Air Commodore in the post of Assistant Director Transformation (ADT) of the JAPCC. There is a Group Captain at the JAPCC, a Wing Commander at the CAOC, and a Major at Wesel who act as the UK’s Senior National Representative (GBR SNR) for their respective units. Additionally, a nominated officer acts as the UK Executive Officer to provide the administrative focus for UK matters.

UK personnel are administered by support staff at the UK Joint support unit (UKJSU) based at Brunssum in the Netherlands. The JSU does not send out joining instructions; instead, one of the GBR SNR's will nominate a suitable individual to act as a sponsor for new arrivals to help them and their families (if applicable) to settle in. The sponsor will usually be of similar rank and family circumstances, and will provide advice and guidance both prior to and after arrival; they will continue to offer support for the first few weeks as required.