On 12 June 2010, the Commander of the Multinational Corps Northeast (MNC NE) Lieutenant General Rainer Korff, started his official visit to Kabul, Afghanistan, to meet the Corps' personnel serving at the ISAF Joint Command (IJC) and Headquarters ISAF.
Looking after MNC NE deployers, bringing best regards from their families and personnel of the Garrison Headquarters as well as getting familiarized with most current status of the operations in Afghanistan have been main aims lying behind the Commander's visit to Kabul. As General Korff also stated, he felt it was the right and high time to visit his staff serving on the mission.
The trip to Afghanistan led through Cologne from which the Luftwaffe Airbus A310 took the Commander and his assisting staff to Termez, Uzbekistan, where a German interim base is located. Only from this place did the flight to Afghanistan take place. The Commander arrived in Kabul before noon on 12 June and was warmly welcomed at the airport by the MNC NE delegation headed by Brigadier General Josef Heinrichs, who is the highest- ranking MNC NE officer serving at IJC.
First, General Korff received a briefing on the most current situation in Afghanistan. Afterwards, he had a walk around the IJC camp located in the area of Kabul International Airport being assisted by General Heinrichs. Among other things, the Commander saw places where servicemen are accomodated in and the German National Support Element. A very important part of the itinerary was visiting the MNC NE personnel at their working places where they could talk with the Commander about their jobs.
In the evening, all MNC NE members from both IJC and HQ ISAF met for a common social event. The Commander forwarded kind regards from all Garrison Headquarters members including Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff, servicemen's families as well as Major General Ole Køppen, who already finished his tour of duty as the MNC NE Deputy Commander two months ago. „You are doing a great job,” said General Korff referring to converations he made with high ranking officers at IJC. He also presented the latest news from Szczecin, such as a summary of findings from the last Corps Committee Meeting or the situation within the Framework Nations, i.e. Denmark, Germany and Poland. He also focused on the activities of the Family Care Centre reassuring that the Centre is doing their best to support deployers' families.
The highlight of the evening was awarding General Heinrichs with the Corps Medal of the Multinational Corps Northeast for his substential contribution to the development of the Corps. In fact, it is already the second mission of General Heinrichs with the staff of the Multinational Corps Northeast in Afghanistan.
