The school of officers – and of friendship
At the Bundeswehr Command and Staff College in Hamburg, General Staff officers from many different countries receive their training – an interview.
A deputy chief of staff in the Indonesian army, a deputy defence minister in Argentina, a senior officer from Singapore – they all have one thing in common: they trained at the Bundeswehr Command and Staff College in Hamburg, Germany. The list goes on – since 1962, around 2,250 officers from over 120 countries have completed the International General/Admiral Staff Officer Course (LGAI) there, alongside some 750 officers of the Bundeswehr itself.
We promote democratic values, too.
The college has a wide-ranging remit, its core mission being the training of experienced officers to become senior military leaders. Rear Admiral Ralf Kuchler is Commander of the Command and Staff College. “Our international guests receive high-quality military instruction,” says Kuchler. “In addition, we promote the democratic values and principles on which our society, our state and our armed forces are based.” The LGAI is a two-year course: participants are invited by the Federal Ministry of Defence in coordination with the Federal Foreign Office. In the first year they primarily learn German – the language of instruction – and then spend the second year at the college in Hamburg.
Roughly a quarter of LGAI course participants are from Germany. “These Bundeswehr officers have a dual role,” says Kuchler. “They undergo training themselves, and at the same time they mentor their international colleagues every day for the full two years.” The concept benefits the Bundeswehr, too. “Our officers have not just professional expertise but also exceptional social and intercultural skills which they develop over the course of the programme. That’s an enormous asset for the Bundeswehr, especially given its close international ties with NATO and the EU.”
One key principle of our work is treating others as equals.
And what do the international participants say? “There’s a common thread that runs through the many decades of our work, and that’s the overwhelmingly positive feedback from both the participants themselves and their home nations,” says course director Colonel Jörn Rohmann. That appreciation is reflected in practice, too. “Japan regularly sends officers to the course, and they later go on to serve as military attachés at the embassy,” he says.
So what makes the LGAI so successful? Is it simply the high standard of training? Rohmann: “One of the key factors is mutual respect. Of course we’re here to teach – but we also learn from those we teach. We benefit from their invaluable perspectives and experience.” Through the programme, international participants gain experience of a parliamentary army in a democratic system – they see the concept of the “citizen in uniform” and the Bundeswehr’s model of leadership and civic education in action.
