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View Full Version : Netherlands Marco Kroon,Military William Order, Afghanistan



bobdina
09-07-2009, 09:13 PM
The Military William Order is the highest military honour in the Netherlands, which is bestowed for "performing excellent acts of Bravery, Leadership and Loyalty in battle". The award is comparable to the French Légion d’honneur but far less awarded.

From March 2006 to August 2006 Kroon, while still a lieutenant, was dispatched to the Afghan province of Uruzgan. His job, as platoon commander of the Dutch special forces unit "Viper", was to perform reconnaissance and to map out the area so Task Force Uruzgan could be established. During this period he distinguised himself by performing exceptional deeds during 6 extremely dangerous actions. These actions were performed during ISAF patrols of the Dutch Viper-unit and an Australian Special Air Service Regiment platoon.

One of these actions was Operation Chitag (13 - 14 July 2006). During the patrol Kroon encountered a group of Taliban soldiers. In the resulting battle, while heavily outnumbered, he was forced to request air support on his own position by a Lockheed AC-130 gunship aircraft; he ordered his men to take cover and with his Forward Air Controller (FAC) guided the American air attack. At such close quarters, however, it was also a harrowing experience for Kroon and his FAC. Later, his platoon was forced to take cover in an Afghan house and swatted a number of attacks during the night on their position. No men fell under Kroon's command; the resulting Taliban losses were severe. During daylight Kroon and his men emerged to retrieve intelligence from the deceased Taliban soldiers to establish their identity. Kroon straightened his men out after noticing his men's agitation and inclination towards unprofessional behaviour and subsequently ordered the wounded to be treated and the dead to be covered. In an interview, he later said to understand the behaviour of his men but felt, as a leader, responsible to ensure the platoon acted professionally. His leadership and ability to correct a battle-hardened group of commandos was later commended by his superiors.

These actions and his general behaviour as a leader were the reason both his subordinates and superiors recommended him for the award. After two years of research by the Ministry of Defence, it recommended to Her Majesty Queen Beatrix that Kroon be awarded the Military William Order. Kroon was made a Knight 4th class of the Military William Order on 29 May 2009 by Queen Beatrix.

bobdina
09-07-2009, 09:14 PM
After graduating high school in 1989, Kroon started his military career as a marine in the Royal Netherlands Marine Corps. In 1991 he was dispatched for Operation Provide Comfort, a humanitarian operation for Kurds in northern Iraq. After this he was transferred for a year to the Marine Barracks Savaneta in Aruba. In 1993 he was sent out a second time as assistant section leader in a Marine platoon for the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) in Cambodia.

After this mission in Cambodia he transferred to the Army where he started training for a position as an NCO at the Koninklijke Militaire School in Weert. After graduating he became squad leader at the 17th Armoured Infantry Battalion in Oirschot. With this unit he left for a mission in Bosnia for six months leading an infantry group.

In 1998 he transferred to the Korps Commandotroepen (Corps of Commando Troops) in Roosendaal. After successfully earning his Green Beret he fulfilled a management position in the corps. In 2000 he once again left for Bosnia, this time as a member of the Joint Commissioned Observer mission. After this mission he left again for the Koninklijke Militaire Academie (Royal Military Academy) in Breda, to become an officer. After graduation he returned to his unit, the 17th Armoured Infantry Battalion, and left for Bosnia for the third time, now as platoon commander, in the Stabilization Force (SFOR) mission.

In 2004 he returned to the Special Forces in Roosendaal as platoon commander at the 108th Commando Company. Here he had several management positions and was dispatched once again to Iraq in 2004 for mission Stabilisation Force Iraq and three times to Afghanistan (2005, 2006 en 2007).

Kroon is currently a staff officer at the intelligence centre of the special forces, training other commandos, testing equipment and tactical procedures.

bobdina
09-07-2009, 09:16 PM
An officer of the Dutch Commando Corps who led his Special Forces platoon through numerous fights against the Taliban in Afghanistan will receive the highest (and rarest) royal decoration for bravery. On 29 May, Captain Marco Kroon of the Korps Commandotroepen (KCT, Commando Corps) will be the first individual in more than fifty years to receive the ‘Militaire Willems-Orde’ (Military Order of William). The order is awarded by the Royal Court to soldiers and civilians who have distinguished themselves through “excellent acts of courage, leadership and loyalty”.
The Military Order of William was established in 1815 by King William I and almost immediately granted to Dutch military who participated in the battles of Waterloo and Quatre Bras against Napoleon. The order can be awarded to both military personnel and civilians, and these need not to be of Dutch nationality. Of the current eleven people alive who were granted the Order, eight are Dutch, two Canadian, and one American.
The last time individuals received the Order of William was in 1955. In addition, the Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade was granted the award in 2006 to honour their role near the town of Arnhem in the 1944 Operation Market Garden. The only other military unit to have collectively received the Order is the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division, for gallantry during that same operation.
Captain Marco Kroon began his career as a member of the Royal Netherlands Marine Corps. He later became a NCO and joined an infantry battalion. In 1998, he successfully passed the gruelling test of the Commando Corps and received his Green Beret. Subsequently he graduated from the Royal Military Academy and became a commissioned officer. As a commando, he served in Iraq in 2004, and three times in Afghanistan (2005, 2006, and 2007). According to a statement of the Dutch Defence ministry, Captain Kroon led his platoon through numerous operations against Taliban fighters.