Ben Bekkering

Meet Ben Bekkering

Ben Bekkering retired from the Royal Netherlands Navy in 2019, after 40 years intensive and most rewarding years in the dark blue uniform. He spent most of his junior years on board frigates, in various roles. During the second part of his career, he rotated between command positions at sea and staff positions ashore. He commanded a frigate, an amphibious ship and one of NATO’s permanent Task Groups. His staff positions were mainly in the field of plans and policy, both in the naval and the defense staff. In 2015 he became Deputy Commander of the Navy. He concluded his military career in Brussels, serving as the Netherlands Permanent Military Representative to NATO and the EU from 2016 to 2019.