Multinational Corps Northeast

The Multinational Corps Northeast was formed on 18 September 1999 at Szczecin, Poland, which became its headquarters. It evolved from what was for many years the only multinational corps in NATO, Allied Land Forces Schleswig-Holstein and Jutland (LANDJUT, in turn, a part of Allied Forces Northern Europe). From 1962 LANDJUT had been responsible for the defence of the Baltic Approaches from a headquarters at Rendsburg, Germany. It comprised the 6th Panzergrenadier Division and the Danish Jutland Division.

The Corps is under the operational command of the Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum.

A tri-national working group was established following the July 1997 decision that Poland was to be admitted to NATO with the aim of establishing the corps as part of NATO’s Main Defence Forces. Its missions are three-fold: to participate in the collective defence of NATO territory, under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, to contribute to multinational crisis management including peace support operations, and to provide command and control for humanitarian, rescue, and disaster relief operations.

In July 1997, Ministers of Defence of Denmark, Germany and Poland decided to establish a Danish-German-Polish Corps. This corps was to be named Multinational Corps Northeast with its headquarters located in Szczecin, Poland. The Headquarters Allied Land Forces Schleswig-Holstein and Jutland (LANDJUT) from Rendsburg in Germany was to form the nucleus of this new command. Ministers of Defence of Denmark, Germany and Poland signed the Corps Convention in 1998, when Poland was not yet a member of NATO, but the date of the country’s accession (12 March 1999) had already been set. On 18 September 1999, the three Framework Nations – Denmark, Germany, Poland – could hoist their flags in the Baltic Barracks, the seat of the Corps in Szczecin. The Corps has significantly developed decisively since that time.

Though it is a NATO-affiliated formation, the Corps Convention is a trilateral agreement between the three nations. The positions of commander, deputy commander, and chief of staff rotate between the three nations. For common purposes of practice and training the corps was assigned to Joint Sub-Regional Command Northeast (JSRC NE), at Karup, Denmark. For Article 5 common defence purposes, the Corps was to have been assigned either to JSRC NE or the JSRC Centre at Heidelberg, Germany. Following the 2006-2010 reorganisation, it might have reported if designated for operations in Central Europe to Allied Force Command Heidelberg. The 14th Panzergrenadier Division of the German Army used to be part of the Corps, but disbanded at the end of 2008.

Due to its geographical location, the only NATO HQ East of the former Iron Curtain, Multinational Corps North East has a key function in the integration of new NATO member states. This is reflected in the structure of its personnel. Officers and NCO's from the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia are serving at Multinational Corps North East. Since April 2004, the flags of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have been fluttering at the Headquarters. In January 2005, Slovakia joined Multinational Corps Northeast, whereas the Czech Republic - in October 2005. The US flag was hoisted in November 2006 indicating the US membership in the Corps. In July 2008, first Romanian officers arrived to serve at the HQ. In August 2009, Slovenia entered the MNC NE family. In January 2012, Croatia officially became the twelfth nation of the Corps. In July 2013, the flag of Hungary was hoisted in Baltic Barracks. Sweden, then a non-NATO member, sent its representative to the Baltic Barracks in autumn 2014. In 2015 Turkish, British, French and Dutch officers started their tours of duty in Szczecin. Canada, Iceland, Belgium, Norway and Greece joined the Corps in 2016.

In 2005, during the Compact Eagle exercise, the headquarters achieved full operational capability.

From January to August 2007 a considerable number of personnel from Multinational Corps Northeast were put at the disposal of International Security Assistance Force's headquarters in Kabul, Afghanistan.