The Chief of Defence abbreviated as CHOD

Chief of Defence

The Chief of Defence is the highest ranked commissioned officer of a nation's armed forces. The term CHOD is in common use within NATO and the European Union as a generic term for the highest national military position within the NATO and EU member states, rather than the actual term used for...

, is the professional head and commander of the Belgian Armed Forces

Military of Belgium

The Belgian Army is the national military of Belgium. The Belgian Army was established after Belgium became independent in October 1830...

. He is the highest official within the Ministry of Defence

Ministry of Defence (Belgium)

The Ministry of Defence is the Belgian ministry responsible for national defence and the Belgian military. As a result of the first Verhofstadt Government's plans to modernise the federal administration, all other ministries were transformed into Federal Public Services but in August 2007 there...

 and the Chief of the Defence Staff. He reports directly to the Minister of Defence and is responsible for advising the Minister, for the implementation of defence policy and for the administration of the department. The current Chief of Defence is General

General

A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....

Charles-Henri Delcour, since April 2009.

The Chief of Defence is assisted in the exercise of his functions by a Vice-Chief of Defence and a Secretary-General.