Ministry of Defence

Although the king is technically commander in chief of the armed forces, they are under the operational authority of the Ministry of National Defense and a joint ministerial committee composed of the ministers of national defense; foreign affairs; the interior and public office; justice and institutional reform; and communications posts, telephones, and telegraphs. This committee collectively oversees the three conventional military services — the army, navy, and air force — as well as the gendarmerie, which is the internal security or state police force. The Ministry of National Defense and the General Staff provide centralized logistic support, major policy direction and planning, and the allocation of tasks among the services, which nevertheless train separately and retain distinct individuality.

The Ministry of Defence is responsible for defending the country. In addition to this, the MoD takes part in various military missions conducted by international organisations working for peace in the world. The ministry also organises international humanitarian missions on behalf of the Belgian government.

The failure of Belgian neutrality in the military conflicts of twentieth-century Europe led the post-World War II government to pursue collective security actively and, in 1948, to establish the joint defense system that evolved into NATO. Recognizing that individual national responses were no longer adequate to ensure security against threats of aggression, the government agreed to integrate most of its armed forces into a unified military organization. Logistical support and defense of the homeland, however, remained a national responsibility.

To coordinate civilian and military aspects of Belgian defense, a joint ministerial defense committee under the direction of the prime minister is convened when circumstances require a decision from the highest level of government. Members of this committee include the ministers of national defense; foreign affairs; the interior and public office; justice and institutional reform; and communications, posts, telephones, and telegraph.

The armed forces are under the direct authority of the minister of defense. There are two main suborganizations of the Ministry of National Defense: the Central Administration, which is responsible for administrative, financial, and juridical problems; and the more important General Staff. The chief of the General Staff is responsible to the minister of defense for the operational readiness of the armed forces. Plans to achieve this readiness are established in collaboration with the chiefs of staff of the three armed forces and the head of the Medical Branch.

The General Staff has been reorganized several times since 1960, but the organization in place in late 1984 had been in effect for 20 years. It gave the chief of the General Staff a joint staff responsible for the coordination of policy, planning, programs, personnel, and logistics, while the army, air force, and naval chiefs of staff are responsible for the management of their services. The same responsibility is entrusted to the head of the Medical Branch, which is an interservice program.

The armed forces are organized according to the missions they are required to fulfill. They are within the area of responsibility of two NATO major commands. Although the army and the air force assign personnel to NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe, the Belgian Navy operates under the Commander in Chief, Channel. Part of the army remains under Belgian national authority and is referred to as the Forces of the Interior. The gendarmerie also plays a role in the maintenance of the security of Belgian territory.

Civil defense received little emphasis in Belgian planning. Belgian citizens were reminded that defense plans exist only by the occasional testing of air raid sirens by the police, fire department, and military reserves. Basements of large buildings, as well as the Brussels subway system, were designed for use as shelters in the event of enemy attack.