Welcome to the Netherlands
CFPO 5053 or Postbus 275 6440 AG Brunssum, NLD
Welcome to the Netherlands.
Congratulations on being selected for a posting to The Netherlands. This Cope Kit is to help make the posting process go as smoothly as possible. This document has been put together by civilian and military volunteers already on site here in Brunssum on behalf of the Senior Canadian Officer (SCO) AFNORTH and the Officer in Command (OIC) Det Brunssum. We want to welcome you to our community and hope that this information will be helpful to you.
While the Canadian Cope Kit, Geilenkirchen, Germany remains the most thorough reference book – most of which applies to the three communities: - AFNORTH Brunssum, the NATO Airbase Geilenkirchen and the CFSU(E) Selfkant-Kaserne at Neiderheid – we have done our best to cover items we think will help you here in The Netherlands.
Brunssum is in the province of South Limburg in The Netherlands. Sandwiched between Germany and Belgium, we are within short reach of many interesting sites that you will be able to discover during your time here. Brunssum has a cool, maritime climate influenced by moisture-laden winds from the Atlantic Ocean, sweeping across Belgium and into the Netherlands. Partly cloudy to cloudy skies are the norm with most cloudiness occurring between October and March. During this time, frequent storms bring gusty westerly winds and periods of wet weather. There are also periods of heavy fog and possible black ice on the roads. Brunssum has a relatively mild climate except in mid-winter (January and February), when temperatures may fall below 0 degrees Celsius. Most (if not all) of the Dutch population speaks excellent nglish and some French - you will have little or no problem communicating with local residents.
Our small community consists of 22 military members and families posted to AFNORTH, 24 Canadian teachers and their families at the AFNORTH International School (AIS) and 8 Canadian employees of NATO and NAPMA.
This Dutch Cope Kit is not meant to be exhaustive and all-inclusive. The aim is to help you adapt to this new and different culture and to get over some of the transition ‘dremples’ (Dutch for speed bumps) that everyone encounters in their first few months.
Should you find something that is not entirely correct or something that is missing, we ask that you advise the Detachment Orderly Room to amend this package.
For more information on the Joint Force Command/Brunssum or the Canadian Forces Network/Brunssum, click on the tab of your choice from the left-hand side Menu under the country Netherlands. You will notice that more links related to the area will appear in the right-hand menu.
