Lieutenant Colonel Pronk has served for over 40 years in the Royal Netherlands armed forces and has completed operational tours during operations Desert Storm, NATO Display Deterrence (US Operation Iraqi Freedom) and in SFOR, former Yugoslavia. He served in various national command and training positions, in the realm of Surface-Based Air Defence and Missile Defence, as well as staff positions at the Royal Netherlands Air Force Command and The Royal Netherlands Army Command. Internationally, he served at the former HQ Extended Air Defence Task Force (with US Army and German Air Force) and at the German Air Force Forces Command, as well as Section Chief Air Operations at J3, NATO SHAPE. Currently, the author holds the Subject Matter Expert position for Surface-Based Air and Missile Defence at the Joint Air Power Competence Centre in Kalkar, Germany.