Michele Willard

Mart de Kruif, IF Netherlands, RES ‘03

As a former USAWC student and member of the IF Hall of Fame, I learned about the incredible strength of our soldiers.  It pushed me to bring the fifth Invictus Games to The Netherlands in May this year.  With a great team, we were ready to cross the Line of Departure, until COVID-19 hit us.  But this is not the end. We will work incredibly hard to have the Invictus Games in The Hague in 2021, and we will succeed.  Because we are the Masters of our fate, the Captains of our soul!

The Invictus Games bring together over 500 competitors from 19 nations to compete in a series of adaptive sports.  It is the only international, adaptive, multi-sport event in which wounded, injured, or sick armed services personnel and veterans take part in sports including wheelchair basketball, seated volleyball, and indoor rowing.  Originally held in London in 2014 as a one-time event, but since then in Orlando in 2016, Toronto in 2017, and Sydney in 2018, the Games use the power of sport to inspire recovery, support rehabilitation, and generate a wider understanding and respect of all those who serve their country.

LGen (Ret) Mart C. de Kruif
Resident Class of 2003, Seminar 8
Royal Netherlands Army
The Invictus Games The Hague 2020 Chairman

Petrus Hagenaars, IF Netherlands, DDE ‘14

After graduating from the DDE Class of 2014, I continued to serve as the Netherlands Liaison Officer at HQ, TRADOC at Fort Eustis, Virginia until the summer of 2015.  After that posting, I became the Deputy Commander of 43 Mechanised Brigade of the Royal Netherlands Army until the summer of 2018.  In that position, I also was the Regional Military Commander North, responsible for Defense Support of Civil Authorities (DSCA) in the north of the Netherlands.  In that period, I developed, with others, the plan to rebuild a territorial headquarters for the Army, something that was lost following many budget cuts in 2003.

I established the Territorial Operations Centre (TOC) reaching Initial Operating Capability (IOC) in February, just in time to support the USAREUR-led exercise DefenderEurope20.  On March 10, when the first ship with material of a U.S. Army mechanized brigade arrived in a Dutch port, it became clear that DefenderEurope20 would be significantly scaled down because of the COVID-19 crisis.  At the same time, the centre was tasked to direct the Army response to COVID-19.  Personnel from all services are now present in the TOC, all working hard fighting this virus.

These have been hectic weeks changing focus to this new task, directing medical detachments to hospitals and care homes, as well as sending logistic and medical planners to a wide range of organisations.  Military advice has been particularly effective, for example, establishing a national coordination mechanism for distributing Intensive Care patients using experience from our Afghanistan-mission.  At this moment it seems that the spread of the virus is slowing down; however, we need to be prepared for all scenarios.  It has been very rewarding to contribute to fighting COVID-19 with dedicated colleagues and seeing concrete results.

COL Petrus J. Hagenaars
Distance Class of 2014
International Fellow – Netherlands