103 NLD ISTAR Battalion was the intelligence gathering

reconnaissance In military operations, military reconnaissance () or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconnai ...

battalion of the Royal Netherlands Army, tasked with Intelligence Surveillance Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (

ISTAR ISTAR stands for Military intelligence, intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance. In its macroscopic sense, #ISTAR, ISTAR is a practice that links several battlefield functions together to assist a combat force in employ ...

). The battalion was the main part of the Regiment Huzaren van Boreel (Boreel's Hussars). The other parts of the regiment are the independent recce squadrons which are part of the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

' Army's Mechanised

Brigade A brigade is a major tactical military unit, military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute ...

s. 101 RPV bt and 101 Art Spt Bt belongs to the Field Artillery Regiment and 102 EW Coy to Signals Regiment. In 2011, 103 (NLD) ISTAR Bn was amalgamated with Air Force, Navy and Military Police intelligence assets into (NLD) Joint ISTAR Command (JISTARC). The JISTARC is a joint unit under direction of COM (NLD) Land Forces.

History

The battalion's tasking was centred on collecting and analysing operational information, then use it to compile intelligence and advice for operational commanders. Other taskings are diverse and include

Forward Air Control Forward air control is the provision of guidance to close air support (CAS) aircraft intended to ensure that their attack hits the intended target and does not injure friendly troops. This task is carried out by a forward air controller (FAC). ...

;

FOO The terms foobar (), foo, bar, baz, qux, quux, and others are used as metasyntactic variables and placeholder names in computer programming or computer-related documentation. - Etymology of "Foo" They have been used to name entities such as Var ...

; Route reconnaissance; security operations; electronic and SIGINT. 103 ISTAR-battalion had a complement of little over 800 personnel and is stationed at Legerplaats bij Oldebroek and the Lieutenant Kolonel Tonnet Kazerne in 't Harde in the

Veluwe The Veluwe () is a forest-rich ridge of hills (1100 km2; 420 sq. mi.) in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands. The Veluwe features many different landscapes, including woodland, heath, some small lakes and Europe's largest sand ...

area of the Netherlands. The minister of defence decided to found the ISTAR battalion at June 25, 2001. After preparations the Chief of the General Staff of the

Royal Netherlands Army The Royal Netherlands Army (, KL) is the Ground warfare, land branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. Though the Royal Netherlands Army was raised on 9 January 1814, its origins date back to 1572, when the was raised making the Dutch standing a ...

formally raised the unit at June 25, 2003. He then also decided to formally place the unit under the administration of Boreel's Hussars. The battalion continues the traditions of the old 103 Recce Battalion, which was also part of the same regiment. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Dutch

Cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

units became known as

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...

s, though they still retained a Regimental identity. Boreel's Hussars even became a multi-battalion regiment (almost in an infantry style) housing all the Army's armoured reconnaissance and light cavalry units. It continues to do so today.

Subunits

103 ISTAR Bn contained the following sub-units: * Battalion staff * 101 Military Intelligence and HQ and Staff squadron * 101 RPV Bt (Unmanned Aerial Systems) * 101 Artillery Support Battery (a Target Acquisition Radar unit) * 102 EW Company (a

Signals A signal is both the process and the result of Signal transmission, transmission of data over some transmission media, media accomplished by embedding some variation. Signals are important in multiple subject fields including signal processin ...

sub unit) * 103 LIRS (Long Range Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance) * 104 LIRS The battalion was part of the Operational Support Command Land (Operationeel Ondersteunings Commando Land, OOCL), a formation also containing several specialist engineer units, medical units and such which support the manoeuvre brigades of the army.

References

Site Koninklijke Landmacht
Army units and formations of the Netherlands Targeting (warfare) Military units and formations established in 2003 Military units and formations disestablished in 2011