Major-General (ret.) Patrick Cammaert

About Patrick Cammaert

Major-General Patrick C. Cammaert joined the Royal Netherlands Marine Corps in 1968. At the start of his career he served in the Marine Corps and the Navy, holding various positions. He successfully finished the commando and parachute courses and was deployed with 42 Commando Royal Marines as M Coy second in command to Operation 'CULEX' in Hong Kong. In the second year of his exchange he completed a tour as officer in command of K Coy, 42 Commando Royal Marines. After returning to Holland he was promoted to Major and joined Officers Training Wing as Officer in Command. From 1984-1986 he commanded W Coy, RNLMC, which was integrated with 45 Commando Group Royal Marines at Arbroath in Scotland.

He served in the Dutch Caribbean from 1986-1988 as second in command and later as Commanding Officer of the Marine Barracks 'Savaneta' on the island of Aruba. In 1989 he attended the Senior Naval Staff Course in The Hague during which he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. From January 1990 to October 1991, he was appointed as the Commanding Officer of 2nd Marine Battalion assigned to AMF(L). He was then appointed as the Commanding officer of the 1st Marine Battalion. He commanded the 1st Marine Battalion in Cambodia during the UNTAC Operation from December 1992 to June 1993. He served in The Hague with the Naval Staff in the Plans and Policy Department before he was deployed in June 1995 to Bosnia as the A/COS Coordinator of the Multi-National Brigade of the Rapid Reaction Forces of UNPROFOR and served in the Forward HQ of this Brigade on Mt Igman.

As Colonel he commanded the Group Operational Units Marines, from 1995 until 1998. During this period he was appointed Commander of the Joint Netherlands Task Group for Special Operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina. From May 1998 until June1999 he served as Chief of Staff of the Royal Netherlands Marine Corps. After this, he followed the Advance Defense Staff Course in The Hague and was appointed Commander of the Multi National Stand-by Forces High Readiness Brigade for UN operations (SHIRBRIG) as Brigadier-General. Major-General Cammaert was Force Commander of the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) from October 2000 until November 2002 after which he was appointed by the Secretary-General of the United Nations as Military Adviser, Department of Peacekeeping Operations. On 1 Feb 2005 he was appointed as Division Commander of the UN Forces in the Eastern part in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC). Major-General Cammaert left active duty on April 1, 2007.