Lithuanian Armed Forces students of the Joint Command and General Staff Course at the Baltic Defence College (BALTDEFCOL) took part in joint staffs exercise Joint Resolve 2019 in Warsaw (Poland), held for the first time by the Baltic Defence College and the Polish War Studies University (WSU) on May 6–25. The multinational exercise improved students’ ability to execute operations and formulate solutions to complex NATO Article-5 operational problems by developing and executing a joint operational plan using standard NATO processes.
This is the first common operational level exercise organised by the joint Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian military and civilian training institution and Polish professional military education institution in order to better train their students. The exercise will become an annual event as part of the 11-month long BALTDEFCOL’s Joint Command and General Staff Course. The Course trains officers for positions of command in joints staffs.
The solutions adopted by the students during the Planning Phase and the Command and Control skills will be tested during the Execution Phase utilising the Joint Theater Level Simulation (JTLS) computer system provided by the War Games and Simulation Centre of the Polish War Studies University. The fictitious scenario of the exercise presupposes a growing political and military crisis, which is transformed into an open armed conflict of fictitious states.
This year’s participating students of both BALTDEFCOL and WSU (roughly 250) and observers from NATO allies and partners come from the following nations: Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, South-Korea, Sweden, Ukraine, and the United States.
About the Baltic Defence College (BALTDEFCOL)
The Baltic Defence College celebrates its 20th anniversary this year as one of the most successful projects of cooperation of the Baltic countries providing operational and strategic level officer and civilian training. It is also the only military education institution established jointly by NATO allies in continental Europe that offers officer-level education in English. BALTDEFCOL is appreciated by our allies who eagerly send their officers to study at the BALTDEFCOL courses.
The Baltic Defence College is open for both, NATO and EU countries’ officers and officers of the Partnership for Peace Programme. Lithuania supports military students from Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova studying at the Baltic Defence College thus facilitating a closer NATO cooperation with the Eastern European countries and giving the students the opportunity to take in best practices of NATO countries while studying together with their colleagues from there.
The Baltic Defence College trains staff officers and civilian personnel of the Baltic and other countries according to the following academic programmes: Higher Command Studies Course, Joint Command and General Staff Course, Civil Servants Course, Senior Leaders Course. Also, the Command Senior Enlisted Leaders’ Course was introduced this year. Most of the unit commanders in the Lithuanian Armed Forces are BALTDEFCOL graduates. More than 1,400 students from different countries have graduated from BALTDEFCOL to date.
Higher Command Studies Course is a strategic level BALTDEFCOL course delivered in English. It is attended by civilian personnel and military officers of national defence systems of different countries, including Lithuania, occupying positions of leadership, typically holding the rank of lieutenant or lieutenant colonel if military. The 5-month long course prepares students for decision-making at a complex international environment and trains resourceful and pro-active leaders, policy-shapers and commanders.
Joint Command and General Staff Course is an operational level BALTDEFCOL course delivered in English. The 11-month long course prepares officers for positions of command and work with operational level integrational staffs.
The current Commandant of the Baltic Defence College is Major General Andis Dilans (Latvian Armed Forces) who took over from Major General Vitalijus Vaikšnoras, officer of the Lithuanian Armed Forces in the lead of the College from December 2012, in August 2016. Before that BALTDEFCOL was under the command of Brigadier General Algis Vaičeliūnas in 2004-2007.
BALTDEFCOL was established with the signature of the establishment treaty by Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian Defence Ministers on 12 June 1998 in Brussels. The first 32 students from 8 countries began the Higher Command Studies Course in August 1999.
Video from Exercise Joint Resolve 2019
Photo credits: BALTDEFCOL (Joint Resolve 2019)
