De toekomst van Defensie: Horizon 2030

Reflections on a Belgian
Some Policy proposals
This memo does not have the ambition to develop a detailed strategic
vision for the Belgian Defence, rather than to contribute to the discussion
with some "out of the box" ideas, and also a reflection from the economic
side of the Belgian interests. In this view, we would like to propose some
ideas for this broader discussion:
Some Policy proposals
Retraining of a part of the Belgian Armed forces to assist police forces
for day-to-day civilian protection. The specific task of these
reconverted forces could be to protect public places institutions for
potential terrorist attacks (e.g. by Islamist militants). This kind of
reconversion avoids also the absence of police powers that occurs
when Belgian Armed forces perform this kind of security assignments
(e.g. the power of arrest). Give these forces also specific uniforms
that inspire trust.
Given the budgetary constraints in the forthcoming years and given
the obsolescence of a major part of the equipment is a ‗yes, we can‘
answer to any request of the government for participation of the
Belgian Defence in international missions no longer advisable.
Skip the JSF program and focus on other technologies such as drones
and information technologies. The purchase of new warplanes can
eventually be pooled with other European countries (e.g. The
Netherlands). The same can be done for the purchase of navy
frigates.
It is however unavoidable that this will lead to a stabilisation and
possibly even an increase of the budget on defence. However, this
could also lead to higher economic and social return for the country.
Invest in Cyber Defence given presence of HQ's of multinationals and
in particular financial nerve centers including Swift, Euroclear etc.
Develop a civilian defence service for male and female citizens
Eg. a 12 week period to be planned freely over 12 weeks or 3
months including language, self-defense, history, first aid,
physical training and awareness, team building, leadership,
societal responsibility etc…
Possibility for reservists to extend this service period and actively
contribute with their professional knowledge and skills to the
Belgian Defence Services.
Develop language knowledge and internationally renowned socioeconomic
knowledge on conflict areas and "clash of the cultures".
In general, the Belgian Defence should focus on knowledge intensity,
rather than capital intensity in its international contributions.
Kabinet Defensie en Ambtenarenzaken - vandeput.fgov.be