Type Military College Rector Maj. Gen. Andis Dilāns Affiliations ISMS; IAMP Founded 25 February 1999 | Established 25 February 1999 Location Tartu, Estonia Website www.baltdefcol.org Number of students 80 Academic staff 50 | |
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Similar Estonian National Defence, Tartu Art College, Estonian Academy of Securit, Estonian Aviation Academy, NATO Defense College | ||
Baltic defence college baltdefcol
The Baltic Defence College (official acronym BALTDEFCOL) is a multinational military college, established by the three Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) in 1999. It acts as a centre of strategic and operational research and provides professional military education to intermediate- and senior-level officers and government officials from the three Baltic states and from NATO and EU countries, as well as other European nations like Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia and Ukraine.
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Research
The Baltic Defence College hosts roundtable seminars and major conferences annually, including a Cyber Conference and a Conference on Russian 'Power Projection'. The college's academic faculty also engage in personal research, generating a range of different articles, books and commentaries each year.
Courses
The Baltic Defence College runs two main courses, the largest of which is the Joint Command and General Staff Course (JCGSC) – similar to other one-year general staff courses. In 2004, the college established a Higher Command Studies Course (HCSC), which provides senior officers and government officials with a thorough understanding of the strategic environment. A Civil Servants Course (CSC) is also run to prepare junior government officials for national security and defence-policy work.
Commandants
The first commandant of the Baltic Defence College was the Danish Brig. Gen. Michael Hesselholt Clemmesen (Danish Army), who retired from his position in December 2004. The post now rotates between the three Baltic states:
In May 2005, the Danish Military Society awarded Brig. Gen. Clemmesen with the St. Germain Gold Medal, the citation also mentioning his initiative and work in establishing and running the college.
Deans
The Baltic Defence College's most senior member of academic faculty is a dean. The current Acting Dean is James Rogers, an expert in European Security and a graduate of the University of Cambridge.
Previous deans have included:
Other prominent members of academic faculty at the Baltic Defence College include Lt. Col. (rtd.) Ugis Romanovs and Col. (rtd.) Dr. Zdzislaw Sliwa.
Controversies
In May 2014 Tartu County Court found Baltic Defence College staff members, Finance Officer Jana Lundblad and Chief of Support Lt. Col. Indrek Paul - Rajamäe-Volmer, guilty of misappropriation of funds, both received suspended prison sentences.