The 1st German-Dutch Army Corps (1GNC) has a new commander. Lieutenant General Peter Mirow of the German Armed Forces is taking over from his service colleague Lieutenant General Nico Tak. The Dutchman has led the 1GNC for the past three years. The 1GNC is a fully deployable global headquarters of the NATOthat can lead an international force of more than 50,000 soldiers in a crisis area.
2025 is a special year for the 1GNC. This is because the now international unit was founded in 1995 as a binational cooperation between Germany and the Netherlands. Since then, the corps has developed into a fully integrated NATO headquarters in which soldiers from twelve nations serve. By the end of this year, soldiers from four more countries are to join. Leadership of the command alternates between the founding nations Germany and the Netherlands.
The new commander Peter Mirow joined the Bundeswehr in 1987 in Jäger Battalion 67 in Breitenburg. After studying history at the University of the Bundeswehr in Hamburg, he served as platoon leader and company commander of the 4th company of Jäger Battalion 292 in Donaueschingen from 1994 to 1998. From 2000 to 2002, Mirow was trained as a general staff officer at the German Armed Forces Command and Staff College – as the best in his year.
After being promoted to brigadier general, he became the force commander of the European Union Training Mission in Mali in 2018. In September of the following year, he took command of the Franco-German Brigade in Müllheim, which he handed over two years later as part of the usual rotation of posts. This was followed by a promotion to Major General in June 2023. When he took over the 1GNC, he was promoted to lieutenant general.
Civilian dignitaries and international military commanders took part in the handover ceremony in Münster Cathedral Square. The ceremony was accompanied by the music corps of the German Air Force and the Dutch music corps “Bereden Wapens”.
