Rheindahlen Military Complex

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The Rheindahlen Military Complex is a British forces base in Mönchengladbach, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was also known as Joint Headquarters (JHQ) and functions as the main headquarters for British forces in Germany. JHQ was established in 1954, centralising headquarters functions which at this time were scattered in several towns in Northern Germany. It was originally the HQ of the Northern Army Group (NORTHAG), 2nd Allied Tactical Air Force (2ATAF), British Army on the Rhine (BAOR) and Royal Air Force (Germany) (RAFG). In those days Rheindahlen was populated with British, American, German, Dutch, Belgian, Australian and Canadian military personnel (and in many cases also their families).

It now houses the HQ of United Kingdom Support Command (Germany) which is the administrative HQ of the British Army in Northwest Europe and the Headquarters Allied Command Europe Rapid Reaction Corps.

In appearance JHQ Rheindahlen is more like a medium-size town than a military base, consisting mostly of administrative buildings, living quarters, schools, shops and other areas typical of civilian towns. For much of its existence there was no security perimeter (though buildings with an actual military function were fenced and guarded), but now it is fenced in with check points at the three exits.

Many facilities exist in the complex. There are a great many shops there as well, such as the NAAFI superstore and the American AAFES. There is a full medical and dental centre, several primary schools, one secondary school, several pre-schools, a travel agents, computer shop, cafes. A number of national UK Organisations work for the community, including Scouts, Home-Start and St. John Ambulance.

However, the base is set to close between 2010 to 2014 but most likely 2012 as it is now no longer seen as necessary to have a full time army base in Germany. This is due to the fact that, since the end of the Cold War, there has no been no large enemy force capable of attacking Western Europe. The closure is provisional on the cost and the will to move a vital function of Britain's presence in Western Europe, 2012 is likely to slip to 2015. A survey was conducted, however the results have not been officially released; it is therefore not possible to confirm at this stage if this report (reference closing date) is 100% accurate.

Coordinates: 51°10′35″N 6°19′18″E / 51.17639, 6.32167