Samenvatting

Since its foundation in 1828 the Royal Netherlands Military Academy (RNLMA) has been considered the principal tool for the officer education of the Royal Netherlands Army (RNLA) and (later) the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF). This position is not entirely justified. During almost the entire period of the existence of the military-academic officer education at Breda, there were officers who had not received their education there. The most important motivation for both Services was the shortage of qualified middle management. This situation proved to be more problematical for the RNLA than the RNLAF. From its the start as an independent Service the RNLAF has had a different organization than the RNLA and it has accepted the officers from the ranks more easily.