Baltic Defence College
Encyclopedia
The Baltic Defence College (official acronym BALTDEFCOL, commonly also BDCOL) is a multi-lateral co-operative military college which educates officers from not only the three Baltic States (Estonia
, Latvia
and Lithuania
), but also from NATO and EU States and other European States as Ukraine
, Moldova
, Bosnia and Herzegovina
, Georgia
and Romania
.
The core activity of BALTDEFCOL is the Joint Command and General Staff Course (JCGSC). It is in most aspects similar to other one-year Joint Command and General Staff courses. Since 2004, BALTDEFCOL has established the Higher Command Studies Course (HCSC), which is an officer education level four course. The Civil Servants Course (CSC) is also run to prepare civil servants for national security and defence policy work.
The first Commandant of the BALTDEFCOL, the Danish Brigadier General
M. H. Clemmesen (Danish Army), retired from his position in December 2004. The post is now being rotated between the three Baltic states.
In May 2005, the first Commandant of BALTDEFCOL was awarded with the St Germain Gold Medal of the Danish Military Society, the citation also mentioning his initiative and work with the establishment and running of the college.
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
, Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
and Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
), but also from NATO and EU States and other European States as Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, Moldova
Moldova
Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
, Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
and Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
.
The core activity of BALTDEFCOL is the Joint Command and General Staff Course (JCGSC). It is in most aspects similar to other one-year Joint Command and General Staff courses. Since 2004, BALTDEFCOL has established the Higher Command Studies Course (HCSC), which is an officer education level four course. The Civil Servants Course (CSC) is also run to prepare civil servants for national security and defence policy work.
The first Commandant of the BALTDEFCOL, the Danish Brigadier General
Brigadier General
Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
M. H. Clemmesen (Danish Army), retired from his position in December 2004. The post is now being rotated between the three Baltic states.
- 1998–2004 Brigadier General Michael Hesselholt Clemmesen (DK)
- 2004–2007 Brigadier General Algis Vaičeliūnas (LT)
- 2007– Brigadier General Gundars Ābols (LV)
In May 2005, the first Commandant of BALTDEFCOL was awarded with the St Germain Gold Medal of the Danish Military Society, the citation also mentioning his initiative and work with the establishment and running of the college.