Vice admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

Matthieu Borsboom (born 1959) is a retired

Royal Netherlands Navy The Royal Netherlands Navy (, ) is the Navy, maritime service branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. It traces its history to 8 January 1488, making it the List of navies, third-oldest navy in the world. During the 17th and early 18th centurie ...

officer who served as the 3rd

Commander of the Royal Netherlands Navy The Commander of the Royal Netherlands Navy () (CZsk) is the Military ranks of the Dutch armed forces, highest-ranking Officer (armed forces), officer of the Royal Netherlands Navy. The CZsk reports directly to the Chief of Defence (Netherlands) ...

and

Admiral Benelux The Admiral Benelux (ABNL) is the commanding officer of the combined military staff of the Royal Netherlands Navy and the Naval Component of the Belgian Armed Forces. The position of ABNL was created together with the combination of the Staffs o ...

, and has served with the

International Security Assistance Force The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was a multinational military mission in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014. It was established by United Nations Security Council United Nations Security Council Resolution 1386, Resolution 1386 ac ...

in Afghanistan.

Naval career

Borsboom was commissioned into the Royal Netherlands Navy as a

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest Military rank#Subordinate/student officer, rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Royal Cana ...

in 1978 and was commissioned in 1981. His first assignment was to HNLMS ''Tromp'', followed by a posting to minesweeper HNLMS ''Naaldwijk'' and service as

executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer ...

of HNLMS ''Veere'', another minesweeper. He studied at the

University of Groningen The University of Groningen (abbreviated as UG; , abbreviated as RUG) is a Public university#Continental Europe, public research university of more than 30,000 students in the city of Groningen (city), Groningen, Netherlands. Founded in 1614, th ...

Groningen Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...

before being sent to patrol vessel HNLMS ''Hadda'' as executive officer in 1983. He qualified as a Principal Warfare Officer in 1986, having studied at the Operational School in

Den Helder Den Helder () is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Den Helder occupies the northernmost point of the North Holland peninsula. It is home to the country's main naval base. From here the Royal TESO fe ...

, before being assigned to the frigate HNLMS ''Witte de With'' and then HNLMS ''De Ruyter''. He went on to qualify as an

anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in the older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations ar ...

officer and was posted to HNLMS ''Piet Hein'' as head of the operations department at the height of the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

. As a lieutenant commander in 1991, Borsboom transferred to the Centre for Automation of Weapon and Command Systems before returning to sea duty aboard , which was involved in supporting

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

operations in the Caribbean, later serving aboard HNLMS ''Philips van Almonde''. He attended the Defence Staff College in 1996 and was promoted to the rank of

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

and took charge of the bureau for underwater sensors at the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

, the city of his birth, for two years. Borsboom commanded HNLMS ''Tjerk Hiddes'' in late 1998, after which he commanded between 1999 and 2001. After commanding ships, he took up a staff position in The Hague before subsequently being promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in 2002 and another staff assignment. He then attended the Advanced Defence Course in 2004 and served in another staff post before promotion to

commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (India), in India ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ' ...

in 2005.

High command

Borsboom was promoted to

rear admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

in 2007 and was appointed Director of Operational Policy, Requirements and Plans. In November 2008, Borsboom was deployed to Afghanistan to become Deputy Chief of Staff for Stability in

Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

as part of the

. He reported directly to the commander of ISAF, then General

Stanley A. McChrystal Stanley Allen McChrystal (born 14 August 1954) is a retired United States Army general best known for his command of Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) from 2003 to 2008 during which his organization was credited with the death of Abu Mu ...

, and had responsibility for supporting elections in the country. He was succeeded by

German Army The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...

Major General Richard Rossmanith and returned to the Netherlands in November 2009 and was subsequently promoted to

vice admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

on 4 January 2010, assuming the appointment of Commander, Royal Netherlands Navy on 22 January 2010. He was succeeded as

by Lieutenant General of the Marines Rob Verkerk on 26 September 2014.

Personal life

Borsboom was born in

in 1959. He is married to Ernie Borsboom-Miga and lives in

. The couple have three children, all of whom joined the Royal Netherlands Navy.

Military decorations

Officer of the

Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau () is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has performed acts of special merits for ...

NLD Commemorative Medal for Peace Keeping Operations BAR

Commemorative Medal for Peace Operations * Officierskruis baton

Officers' Cross * Queen Beatrix Investiture Medal 1980

Inauguration Medal 1980 * King Willem-Alexander Investiture Medal 2013

Inauguration Medal 2013 * NED Marinemedaille Bar

Royal Dutch Navy Medal * Vierdaagse Medal BAR

Cross for demonstrated marching skills * Royal Dutch Reserve Officers Association TMTP cross BAR

Cross for the Two Day Military Performance Course * NATO Medal ISAF ribbon bar v1

NATO Medal The NATO Medal is an international military decoration which is awarded to various militaries of the world under the authority of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). It is manufactured by Eekelers-Centini Intl, of Hemiksem, Belgium. Ba ...

* Grand Officer of the Order of Naval Merit (Brazil) * Commander in the National Order of Merit (France)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Borsboom, Matthieu 1959 births Living people Commanders of the Royal Netherlands Navy Royal Netherlands Navy admirals Royal Netherlands Navy personnel Military personnel from The Hague