Command transfer
WILLEMSTAD--Collaboration is more than just agreements on paper. It is the trust and respect of the different Dutch Caribbean islands, each with their own character and institutions, to jointly implement the theme of safety and carry out associated tasks: combating border-related crime and supporting local authorities.
The new commander of the “Koninklijke Marechaussee,” Lieutenant Colonel Patrick Taribuka, has been heading the Caribbean brigade of the Netherlands military and border police since this month. According to him, it is a great responsibility to be the “boss” of the KMar units on all six islands.
With 30 years of military service and leadership experience in various areas at home and abroad, Taribuka explicitly opts for connection in order to ensure smooth cooperation under his leadership in the coming years.
In addition to border control and the fight against frontier-related crime, the KMar in the Caribbean supports local authorities with expertise, manpower and equipment. Its officers are deployed at the immigration service, the information units and within the approach to organised crime, as well as the detection of document and ID fraud. They also work with the Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard and the Dispossession Team, which confiscates criminally obtained money or goods.
Learning to think from the six different islands, without losing sight of coherence, was also the message that outgoing Brigadier General Jos Pieters gave during the official installation of Taribuka at the Suffisant naval barracks. In addition to the protocol, with music from tambourers and pipers, a sabre was also handed over, which symbolises tradition, responsibility and the passing on of trust to a new holder of the office.
Pieters emphasised in his speech that security is a precious commodity and how close the threat to it is to the islands due to geopolitical developments such as America's invasion of Venezuela to capture President Nicolas Maduro. In this light, protecting one's own territory and that of NATO allies consists of strengthening cooperation with and support of chain partners within Justice, Customs and Defence, and updating equipment.
At KMar, the number of colleagues in the Caribbean has expanded in recent years. They further provide support in times of disasters, such as hurricanes, and were recently deployed in Venezuela after the earthquakes in June.
The outgoing commander further praised Taribuka for his analytical, leadership and, above all, his connecting skills. “He puts people first in his work, and he is happy to participate in shifts in the field to experience what units do.”
The “Corps de Maréchaussée” was founded by William I in 1814 to replace the French gendarmerie. Because the term “gendarmerie” was considered too loaded after the French occupation, the monarch called the new corps “maréchaussée.”
On the Dutch Caribbean islands, they became part of the newly established Military Police Corps (KMP) in 1925. The latter was abolished in 1949 and the KMar disappeared from view until 1975.
Since that year, the organisation returned for the military police task and has collaborated increasingly intensively with the local police. The Netherlands Antilles Safety Plan was launched
in 2004, the framework within which the KMar carry out tasks on all islands.
