Students
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Defence

Firearm training & camping in the woods

A side job in the army

Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Defence
Jelte and Wietske don’t have a standard side job at the supermarket; instead they apply the knowledge they gain in uni while learning how to shoot and survive in the woods. ‘I’ve become more aware of what’s going on in the world.’
4 February om 10:49 uur.
Laatst gewijzigd op 5 February 2025
om 14:06 uur.
February 4 at 10:49 AM.
Last modified on February 5, 2025
at 14:06 PM.
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Door Thijs van Eijck

4 February om 10:49 uur.
Laatst gewijzigd op 5 February 2025
om 14:06 uur.
Avatar photo

By Thijs van Eijck

February 4 at 10:49 AM.
Last modified on February 5, 2025
at 14:06 PM.
Avatar photo

Thijs van Eijck

‘Look’, Jelte Stelwagen (21) points to a field during the tour of the Johan Willem Frizo barracks in Assen. ‘That’s Kees the billy goat, our mascot.’ A white goat can be seen grazing on the grass next to his pen. ‘Every time the battalion goes out, Kees comes with.’ 

Jelte is self-assured as he walks across the grounds, almost as though it’s his second home. And it basically is: while he is a communications student, he’s also worked for the 13th infantry battalion Regiment Storm Troop Prince Bernhard 11th airmobile brigade since February of 2024. He takes the train to Asses twice a week to support the battalion in their communication. It’s his side job. 

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has been employing students at research universities and universities of applied sciences since 2015. The programme is called Defensity College, and it employs around 350 students throughout the country. 

Bridge with society

‘Based on your chosen field of study, they find the best place for you to work’, says Wietske Anema (24), who’s been working for the MoD for a year now. She studies industrial engineering and management, and her current job is a good match. ‘I’m creating an overview of the ecosystem of technical corporations in the North of the Netherlands, like the corporations that ensure that ships use less fuel, for instance. But we’re also trying to figure out how to best roll up barbed wire fencing. A lot of people get injured, so we’re trying to see if there’s an innovative way of doing it instead.’

They want the Ministry of Defence to be represented in society

Jelte’s job is also a good match for his interests. ‘I mainly focus on the unit’s communications and the external relationships in the North of the Netherlands’, he explains. ‘This unit recently celebrated its eightieth anniversary. I did all the media support. I wrote up a plan on how we wanted to present ourselves and worked it out with the journalist.’

Their jobs allow the students to use their knowledge to support the Ministry of Defence and form a bridge with society. Some of them stick around after graduation, but that is not Defensity College’s main goal, says Jelte. ‘They mainly want to ensure that they have representatives in society or the business world who know what the Ministry of Defence can do for corporations and vice versa.’

Drills

While Jelte isn’t part of the battalion’s combat unit, he does hang out with the guys who are. ‘We regularly go jogging or take on the obstacle course. While they make fun of me sometimes, they do appreciate my help.’

Jelte and Wietske secretly enjoy the ‘green activities’, as they’re called, the most. They like getting their hands dirty, running drills, and learning about the practical side of being in the army. ‘I love it’, says Jelte. ‘Getting out there, getting dirty, walking for miles. Every time I have a free moment I go out and do that.’

You just enter a completely different world

They both massively enjoyed the general military training everyone at the MoD has to go through. ‘I’ll never forget it’, says Wietske. ‘They put you in a group with all these different people and put you in these super extreme situations and tell you to figure it out. We went into the field and learned how to shoot, which was really cool.’

But the military training also tests people’s limits. ‘The cold was really difficult for me’, she says. ‘We were camping outside in November, and it was 4 degrees below zero and it wouldn’t stop raining. That was particularly hard. But no matter how cold you are, giving up isn’t an option. It’s taught me how to persevere in difficult situations. I did things I didn’t think I could do a year ago.’

Jelte Stelwagen at the Johan Willem Frisokazerne in Assen

‘You just enter a completely different world’, Jelte adds. ‘You go from your normal student life, warm and comfortable in class, to the cold and mud in the woods with a gun in your hands. But I genuinely loved it’, he says. ‘I could’ve got a job at a supermarket, but what attracted me to this job was the adventures I could have.’ 

Interested

Jelte had always been interested in the army. ‘I’d read a lot of books about it, watched films. I was also listening to a lot of podcasts. In one of them, someone mentioned Defensity College. It immediately piqued my interest. I knew I had to sign up, because I was looking for a job that truly meant something to me that would challenge my purely theoretical knowledge.’

People look at my strangely when I’m in uniform

Wietske’s fascination with the army also goes back a ways. ‘I was mainly impressed by their commercials. But I always figured it wasn’t an option for me since I was going to go to university. But then some friends told me about Defensity. They said it was just the thing for me. Receiving military training and learning how to shoot is just the cherry on top.’ 

It’s unlikely they’ll ever be deployed in a serious conflict, though. ‘I think it’s better if they send professional soldiers’, says Wietske. ‘But as I’m always telling my friends: if I’m getting deployed, so are you, and at least I’m prepared.’

Value

Her job has changed how she sees the world. ‘I’ve become more aware of what’s happening in the world, as well as the potential consequences’, she says. Jelte is also more aware of the rising tension in the world. ‘But that’s only added value to my work, and it’s made it more satisfying.’

Wietske thinks people could use a bit more awareness here in the north. ‘People sometimes look at me strangely when I’m in my uniform at the train station. You don’t see a lot of people in uniform here in Groningen. But I feel very proud when I wear it.’

Jelte shares the feeling. ‘My project is also focused on creating awareness and conveying how important the Ministry of Defence is, especially with everything that’s going on in the world. The more visible we are, the more people get used to it. I think a lot more people should be donning the uniform.’

The students don’t yet know whether they’ll continue to work for the Ministry of Defence. ‘I’m not sure what I’m going to do once I graduate’, says Jelte. ‘I really like the green activities the most. If I do were to continue at the MoD, I’d prefer a leadership role of some kind.’

Wietske is keeping her options entirely open. ‘I’m also curious to know what the corporate world and civilian life have to offer. But it’s also possible that I want to go back to the MoD after civilian life, who knows.’

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