Netherlands: Difference between revisions
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=== Military ===
The Netherlands has one of the oldest standing armies in Europe; it was first established as such by Maurice of Nassau in the late 1500s. It has seen service throughout the Dutch empire, helping to expand, defend and hold it, as well as fighting in many large conflicts from the Russo-Corean war, the Great war the east indies crisis and the Batavian unrests, the Kandyan insurrection and more recently the Nieuw Batavian crisis. Throughout its existence, the military of the Netherlands has gained a reputation for its ability to conduct war on a budget, its ability to achieve objectives and its sheer ferocity when fighting, as shown in the great war where the Krijgsmacht held the Rhine despite heavy casualties and losing the south and eventually liberating the nation again and pushing all the way into France defeating the enemies of the Netherlands.
The military is composed of four branches, all of which carry the prefix Koninklijke (Royal):
* Koninklijke Marine (KM), the Royal Netherlands Navy, including the Naval Air Service and Marine Corps;
* Koninklijke Landmacht (KL), the Royal Netherlands Army;
* Koninklijke Luchtmacht (KLu), the Royal Netherlands Air Force;
* Koninklijke Marechaussee (KMar), the Royal Marechaussee (Military Police), tasks include military police and border control.
Within the armed forces (Krijgsmacht) almost all branches and units are open to both genders, with the exceptions of the following:
* Submarine service
* Korps Speciale Stoot Troepen
This is for a variety of reasons, be the safety of the females in service to the nature of the units themselves.
The Krijgsmacht in total employs more than 180,000 personnel with 1,3 million reservists, maintaining one of the largest and most capable militaries in Europe. Its navy is considered one of the largest in Europe, this, as well as its military power in general, is a result of its geography, with the need to defend far flung places in Asia and Oceania the need to be a mobile flexible force, as well as the need for defence and a credible deterrence has forced the Netherlands to pay more to the military than many of its citizens actually want.
== Economy ==
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