On 30 January 2012, Croatia joined Multinational Corps Northeast (MNC NE) in Szczecin, Poland, and became its twelfth member state.

A note of accession was signed by Lieutenant Colonel Tihomir Zebec, the Chief Military Police Department of the Croatian General Staff. Along with the Croatian flag run up the pole, Croatia became the twelfth member state of the Multinational Corps Northeast and opened a common chapter in relations between Croatia and Multinational Corps Northeast.

The Commander of the Multinational Corps Northeast Lieutenant General Rainer Korff, on behalf of the whole staff, welcomed new members of the Corps. “I hope that our collaboration will be fruitful for both sides,” said General Korff. “The signing of the Note of Accession underscores Croatia’s efforts to foster its relations with NATO. I would also like to emphasize the importance of the Croatian contribution to the development of the NATO Multinational Military Police Battalion, which will be affiliated to the Corps after passing Full Operational Capability,” added General Korff. “We will give maximum power to our work contributed to the development and progress of Multinational Corps Northeast,” reassured Lieutenant Colonel Tihomir Zebec, expressing pride and content with the Croatian integration into Multinational Corps Northeast.

The ongoing manning conference will establish how many Croatian soldiers will serve at HQ MNC NE. Along with the increase of posts of the Headquarters peacetime structure, all member states of the Corps – Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and the United States – will decide upon manning the respective posts.

Multinational Corps Northeast was founded by Denmark, Germany and Poland in 1999 in Szczecin, Poland, as the first and most eastward located NATO unit. Several other countries have joined the Corps throughout almost thirteen years of its functioning: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania (2004), Slovakia and the Czech Republic (2005), the United States (2006), Romania (2008) and Slovenia (2009). Thus, Croatia has become the twelfth member state of Multinational Corps Northeast.

Since 2005, Multinational Corps Northeast has been a certified NATO Graduated Force Headquarters of Lower Readiness (Land) and a part of NATO Force Structure. The MNC NE personnel have been deployed to Afghanistan twice already – in 2007 and 2010. Currently, the Corps is preparing for this year’s biggest training event – the Crystal Eagle exercise, the aim of which is to train assigned units and share mission experiences.

Text: Anna Gałyga, HQ MNC NE Public Affairs Office
Photos: Marian Cihon, HQ MNC NE Public Affairs Office