The Medical Component of the

Belgian Armed Forces The Belgian Defense Forces ( nl, Defensie; french: La Défense) is the national military of Belgium. The King of the Belgians is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces. The Belgian Armed Forces was established after Belgium became indepen ...

( nl, Medische Component, french: Composante Médicale) is the military medical service which provides medical support for its members in home and abroad operations, participating in

humanitarian aid Humanitarian aid is material and logistic assistance to people who need help. It is usually short-term help until the long-term help by the government and other institutions replaces it. Among the people in need are the homeless, refugees, and ...

and providing certain services to the civilian society. The current Commander of the Medical Component is

General-major Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Marc Ongena (since September 2021).

Organization

The Medical Component is commanded by a

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

and has the following organization: * Medical Component Operational Command (COMOPSMED), in

Evere Evere (, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region (Belgium). On 1 January 2006, the municipality had a total population of 33,462. The total area is which gives a population density of . In common with all of Brussels' mu ...

** Medical Component Competence Centre, in

Neder-Over-Heembeek Neder-Over-Heembeek (; ) is a northern part of the City of Brussels municipality, inside the Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. It is a former municipality which lost its municipality status when it was merged with the City of Brussels. ...

** Queen Astrid Military Hospital, in Neder-Over-Heembeek ** 14th Medical Battalion, in Peutie and

Lombardsijde Lombardsijde, also Lombartzyde, is a district in the Belgian municipality of Middelkerke in West Flanders province, in northwestern Belgium near Nieuwpoort. Fighting occurred in and around Lombardsijde during World War I World War I (28 ...

*** Headquarters and Services Company, 3x medical companies (one company supports the

Air Component The Belgian Air Component ( nl, Luchtcomponent, french: Composante air) is the air arm of the Belgian Armed Forces, and until January 2002 it was officially known as the Belgian Air Force ( nl, Belgische Luchtmacht; french: Force aérienne bel ...

, one company supports the Maritime Component, and one Paracommando qualified company supports the

Special Operations Regiment The 21st Special Service Group (Abbreviation, Abbr.: 21 SSG, ) is a Command (military formation), command for Malaysian Army special forces, the ''Gerak Khas (Malaysian Army unit), Gerak Khas''. The 21 SSG and 10th Parachute Brigade (Malaysia), 10 ...

) ** 23rd Medical Battalion, in Leopoldsburg and Marche-en-Famenne *** Headquarters and Services Company, 3x medical companies (supporting the Land Component including units of the Motorized Brigade) ** 5th Medical Supplies and Distribution Element, in

Nivelles Nivelles (; nl, Nijvel, ; wa, Nivele; vls, Neyvel) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. The Nivelles municipality includes the former municipalities of Baulers, Bornival, Thines, and Monstre ...

Ranks

Officer ranks

Other ranks

Equipment

Weapons

* FN Five-seven mk2 *

FN P90 The FN P90 is a compact 5.7×28mm personal defense weapon designed and manufactured by FN Herstal in Belgium. It can also be considered a submachine gun. Created in response to NATO requests for a replacement for 9×19mm Parabellum firearms, t ...

Vehicles

* Agusta A109 Medevac from Air Component *

John Deere Deere & Company, doing business as John Deere (), is an American corporation that manufactures agricultural machinery, heavy equipment, forestry machinery, diesel engines, drivetrains (axles, transmissions, gearboxes) used in heavy equipment, ...

M-Gator * Pandur 6X6 Ambulance from Land Component (Driven and Maintained by Motorized Brigade Personnel) *

Renault Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufactured ...

Premium Cargo *

Toyota Land Cruiser The (also sometimes spelled as LandCruiser) is a series of four-wheel drive vehicles produced by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota. It is Toyota's longest running series of models. , the sales of the Land Cruiser totalled more than ...

* Unimog Ambulance 4X4 *

Volvo The Volvo Group ( sv, Volvokoncernen; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distributio ...

10T *Volvo Recovery *

Volkswagen Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German Automotive industry, motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a ...

Ambulance LT35 *Refrigerator Plasma Volvo (Thermoking) *Jeep 4X4 Bombardier *Volvo 10T Cargo (6X4) * Ford Transit Ambulance

Princely Members

Princess

Astrid of Belgium Princess Astrid of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este (born 5 June 1962), is the second child and first daughter of King Albert II and Queen Paola, and the younger sister to the current Belgian monarch, King Philippe. She is married to Pri ...

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

of the Medical Component.Belgian Defense Website, Oath ceremony of Amedeo of Belgium
Astrid's Picture
in colonel uniform

External links

Official website of the Medical Component (in Dutch)

Official website of the Medical Component (in French)

References

Military medical organizations {{Belgium-stub