Standing committee on Defense visited military personnel in the Middle East

On Friday 5 and Saturday 6 June 2015 members of the standing committee on Defense paid a visit to Dutch military personnel in the Middle East. The MPs gathered information about the Dutch contribution to the fight against the Islamic State (IS).

Standing committee on Defense

De delegation from the House included the chair of the committee, Mr Han ten Broeke (VVD), Mr Ronald Vuijk (VVD), Ms Angelien Eijsink (PvdA), Mr Jasper van Dijk (SP), Mr Raymond Knops (CDA) en Mr Raymond de Roon (PVV). On Friday 5 June they visited an air base from which six Dutch F16s contribute to the fight against IS. Fighter pilots talked to the MPs about their missions and maintenance staff gave them an explanation of the maintenance of the fighters.

Visit to Ebril

On Saturday 6 June the MPs visited several training centres in Iraq. Dutch military personnel have contributed to the training of hundreds of Kurdish peshmerga forces in Ebril. The infantry training they receive will enable the peshmerga forces to better combat IS on the ground. Dutch instructors also train commandos and snipers.

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Thanks to the visit, the standing committee on Defense now has a better idea of the efforts made by the Dutch in the international fight against IS, says chairman Han ten Broeke: "A lot of work has been done. On 30 June the House of Representatives will have a debate about the Dutch contribution to the fight against IS. The impressions we gathered during this visit will help us conduct the debate in a thorough and careful way."

Debate on 30 June

The debate about the Dutch contribution to the fight against IS is scheduled on Tuesday 30 June from 7.00 - 9.30 pm.