Commander of the Royal Netherlands Army
The Commander of the Royal Netherlands Army (C-LAS) (Dutch: Commandant Landstrijdkrachten) is the executive commander of the Royal Netherlands Army and reports directly to the Commander of the Armed Forces (CDS). The Commander of the Royal Netherlands Army is statutorily a three-star general. The current C-LAS is Lieutenant General Mart de Kruif.
History of the C-LAS
The position of C-LAS was created on 5 September 2005 as part of a thorough reorganization within the Dutch Ministry of Defence in which the staffs (military and civilian) where reduced in size and an entire organizational layer was dropped. Before September 2005 the commanding officer of the Army was the Bevelhebber der Landstrijdkrachten (abbreviated BLS; the term also translates into English as Commander of the Royal Netherlands Army).
Commanders of the Royal Netherlands Army
- Peter van Uhm (5 September 2005 - 13 March 2008)
- Rob Bertholee (13 maart 2008 - 25 October 2011)
- Mart de Kruif (25 October 2011 – present)
Deputy Commanders of the Royal Netherlands Army
- Lex Oostendorp (5 September 2005 - 25 November 2007)
- Marcel van den Broek (26 November 2007 - March 2010)
- Mart de Kruif (March 2010 - October 2011)
- Marc van Uhm (October 2011 – present)