NATO’s senior military medical advisory body has a new deputy at the helm: Major General Marc Ongena. With the establishment of a Vice-Chair position, COMEDS is strengthening its leadership structure at a time when Allied medical readiness has rarely been more urgent.
NATO’s Military Committee has endorsed a significant structural change for the Committee of the Chiefs of Military Medical Services in NATO (COMEDS): on 8 July 2026, Major General Marc Ongena of the Belgian Armed Forces was appointed as the body’s first-ever Vice-Chair.
The newly created position is designed to reinforce COMEDS leadership, improve coordination, and ensure continuity within the organisation as it navigates an increasingly demanding security environment.
COMEDS Chair Brigadier General Petter Iversen of Norway welcomed the appointment: „In light of a more demanding security environment and the numerous ongoing initiatives to enhance collective medical readiness, it is essential to strengthen our ability to lead and coordinate these efforts. I therefore very much welcome Belgium’s decision to assume this important responsibility within the COMEDS leadership team.“
Major General Ongena from Belgium
Major General Marc Ongena brings an unusual combination of backgrounds to the role – one that spans both frontline command and military healthcare leadership. A graduate of the Royal Military Academy and a certified parachute commando, he built his early career within Belgian commando forces before transitioning into military medical services.
He has served as Chief of Staff of the Belgian Medical Command and currently holds the position of its Commander. This breadth of experience – from combat units to medical command – shapes his view of multinational cooperation as a strategic necessity rather than an add-on:
„Throughout my career, I have been a firm believer in the value of international collaboration for the effective provision of medical support. In an increasingly complex security environment, the ability of nations to work together, share expertise, and coordinate capabilities is essential. I am strongly committed to contributing to COMEDS and its mission.“
COMEDS in Skopje
The appointment comes at a pivotal moment for COMEDS. As NATO’s senior military medical advisory body, COMEDS provides coordinated medical advice to NATO military authorities and serves as the principal forum for consultation and cooperation among Allied medical services.
Its plenary meetings – most recently held in Skopje, North Macedonia in early June 2026 – bring together military medical leaders from across the Alliance to address shared challenges in operational healthcare, force health protection, medical logistics, and innovation in military medicine.
The Skopje meeting, which also featured an industry exhibition organised by CPM, illustrated the growing complexity of the COMEDS agenda: from lessons identified in recent operations and exercises to the integration of new medical technologies into Alliance frameworks.
With the new Vice-Chair Major General Ongena now in place, COMEDS moves into its next phase of work with a reinforced leadership team – and a clear signal that collective medical readiness is being treated as a command-level priority across NATO.
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