- Navy
Marine Corps
The Marine Corps was established in 1665 by Michiel de Ruyter and Johan de Witt. It has been part of the Royal Netherlands Navy ever since, operating anywhere in the world. Their motto consequently is ‘Qua Patet Orbis’: ‘As wide as the world extends’. The Marine Corps consists of approximately 2,800 marines.
The Marine Corps is an expeditionary, rapidly deployable and multifaceted crisis management instrument, specialised in carrying out amphibious operations with light infantry units. The marines are deployable for long periods of time, under all climatological and geographical conditions.
To prepare the marines for the kind of operations they are tasked with, their training programme includes mountain, cold-weather, jungle and urban warfare training.
The Marine Corps is deployed in defence of the NATO territories and also in crisis management, peacekeeping and humanitarian operations. In addition, the Marine Corps is employed in the protection of the territory of the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba.
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