The Bugle NEWSLETTER OF THE BALTIC DEFENCE COLLEGE December 2014 I Issue 20 Commandant’s Foreword As 2014 draws to a close it is only natural that we reflect on our achievements, and I In this Issue: share some thoughts with my Baltic De- fence College team about the way ahead Commandant’s Foreword 1-2 for our institution and what we can look Meeting President Obama 3 forward to achieving in 2015. Study trip to Saaremaa 4 Visit to Ämari & Paldiski 5 To start with, 2014 was very challenging, EMPA Congress 6 interesting, productive and most im- Conference on Military History 7 portantly a very successful year. UW Seminar 8 Conference on Russia 9-10 Together we succeeded not only in main- Policy and Strategic Thinking 11 taining the impressive standards and high Baltic Land Power Symposium 12 quality of education our institution has Exploring Hiiumaa 13-14 made the hallmark of its existence during Tartu MTB Marathon 15 the first decade and a half of its existence. Team Building Athletics 16 As we celebrated our anniversary our po- International Night 17 litical masters congratulated us on our ac- implement quite a few new projects and The End of Year Reception 18 complishments and supported the vision of BALTGIRLS 19-21 an even better BALTDEFCOL. Our perfor- initiatives. Among our many initiatives sev- Various 22 mance audit also congratulated us on our eral stand out for special mention. achievements and recommended ways for Electives allow our future leaders at the us to improve. The Bugle operational level to deepen and widen Est. 2009 To ensure our next years are a success their knowledge and expertise in the areas we had launched Vision 2020 which will related to their future appointments. Elec- Editor: tives also represent a shift of ownership of Merike Järv guide our long term planning process and [email protected] ensure that BALTDEFCOL remains a Mod- education to our students as we continue Office Tel +372 717 6022 our transition to adult learning. ern, Future Oriented, Attractive and Com- Baltic Defence College petitive Professional Military Educational To ensure that we are an attractive institu- Riia 12, Tartu institution. ESTONIA tion we have also begun our modernisation project. The environment we create helps In 2014, and as part of Vision 2020, we be- gan the process of further positioning to shape our students and faculty and en- Pictures by: sures our education is of the highest quali- Mr. Toots, Mr. Saar, Mr. Silm, BALTDEFCOL to best address security Ms. Järv, MAJ Grunda, ty. Modernisation is not just rooms and Ms. Matuleviciene, BALTGIRLS, and defense challenges of the future in the ärileht.delfi.ee, wider Baltic region and the broader Euro- machinery but also the educational process estonia.usembassy.gov. Atlantic. We very successfully started to itself which is shifting from teaching cen- tred to learning centred. NEWSLETTER OF THE BALTIC DEFENCE COLLEGE I PAGE 1 Commandant´s foreword A modern facility also requires that we all have est value to BALTDEFCOL and the Baltic States agile minds that can swiftly react to the latest de- we will continue our efforts to harmonise all levels velopments and trends in the security environ- of Professional Military Education in the Baltic ment. States. Our seminars, roundtables and symposia are just Our long term planning and harmonization pro- some of the ways that we address changes in our grammes will allow us to continue to improve the regional security environment. These events allow quality of our education and our educational pro- us to showcase our intellectual talent to our cess by developing and refining our quality assur- NATO and EU allies and partners. Our inaugural ance procedures and by improving the educational Russia conference has established us as a leader in environment. Improving our education and our security thought in the wider Baltic Region and it, research requires that we deepen and strengthen together with our other events such as ESDC, the our ties with other educational institutions both Baltic Land Power Symposium and the Irregular military and civilian. Warfare Conference, provide a strong foundation for even greater intellectual accomplishments and We shall also further develop our existing courses deeper cooperation with our allies and partners. and start to develop new ones. In 2015 we shall complete our dialogue with the Baltic States on These and all of our successes are the result of the the new CSC concept and develop a pilot Senior BALTDEFCOL teams’ efforts, dedicated work and Strategic Leaders engagement which shall take commitment to ensuring BALTDEFCOL’s continu- place at the Baltic Defence College. These new ing success and improvement and I take this op- projects will increase the attractiveness of portunity to thank all of our permanent personnel BALTDEFCOL and require the best use of our and students and especially to recognize the sup- intellectual and material resources. port, understanding and dedication from our To succeed - we should continue to work as one spouses and families without which BALTDEFCOL team, a team of the people who are innovative, could not function. Looking ahead to the second responsible, flexible, communicative, who are able half of the academic year and beyond we will fur- to cooperate and respect each other regardless of ther concentrate our efforts on the implementa- different personal opinions or views. tion of the plans and projects started this year. As the Commandant of the Baltic Defence College On the 12th of January we will start with the re- I have full confidence in our ability to successfully freshed Higher Command Studies Course which deal with the challenges we will face in the coming will better address the needs of the future strate- year and to further develop as a future oriented, gic leaders of the Baltic States and our allies and progressive, modern, attractive and competitive partners by providing an enhanced understanding professional educational institution for the benefit of regional defense and security issues. The same of the future leaders we educate, tomorrow and day our JCGSC will be reinforced by CSC partici- well into the future. I have every confidence that pants where besides traditional participants from together … we will succeed. the Baltic States we will have a civil servant from the Republic of Panama, our first ever student In closing, Irena and I would like to wish each of from Central America. you a Merry Christmas with love and joy. We sin- cerely look forward to serving together in the year Educational success requires planning and we will to come. continue to further develop the Long Term Plan- ning capacity of the Baltic Defence College. To Major General Vitalijus Vaikšnoras ensure that our Long Term Plans are of the great- Commandant NEWSLETTER OF THE BALTIC DEFENCE COLLEGE I PAGE 2 Meeting President Obama Meeting President Obama By MAJ Vidas Grunda On 3rd of September this year the Com- Alliance, reminding that all NATO Member States mandant of the Baltic Defence College to- have their commitments to the Alliance security as gether with members of directing staff and well. the majority of JCGSC officers attended the remarkable event in Tallinn. President Obama expressed his concerns over the recent developments in Ukraine having then evolved to open military aggres- sion by Russia against a sover- eign and independent country. President Obama underlined that there is still a possibility to set- tle the dispute peacefully and that the United States of America will continue in BALTDEFCOL delegation in Tallinn its support to Ukraine. The President of the United States of America Barack Obama paid an exceptional visit to Estonia It was really an honour to be part of history and addressing the Baltic States, but also the whole listen to President Obama’s live speech, which was region, NATO and the whole international com- motivating and encouraging for collective defence munity on the current most worrying issues relat- within the NATO Alliance. ed to the uncontained Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and its repercussions for regional and global stability. At the beginning of the speech President Obama noted crucial historical facts about Estonia’s fight for independence, highlighting a remarkable unity of all three Baltic States well illustrated by the ‘Baltic Road’, when people from all three Baltic States stood in one line stretching from Tallinn through Riga to Vilnius holding hands for their firm expression of an independent mind. The President of the United States of America expressed the strongest commitment and reas- surance to the security of the Baltic States as to any other Member State of the North Atlantic President Barack Obama NEWSLETTER OF THE BALTIC DEFENCE COLLEGE I PAGE 3 Study trip Field Study Trip to Saaremaa By MAJ Vidas Grunda From 30th September to 2nd October 2014 the JCGSC officers, guided by members of the directing staff conducted the Field Study Trip to Saaremaa. The aim of the trip was to enhance officers’ un- derstanding of the evolution and conduct of joint operations through the notable historical example of Operation Albion during the World War I. This German operation was perhaps the first known joint operation in history that resulted in Coast of the Baltic Sea selves into a Joint Operational HQ plan- ning officer’s position for the Centre of Gravity analysis. The officers also discussed operational parameters within small groups repre- senting both sides of the operation. The final product of overall considerations was presentations on the analysis of Centre of Gravity from the German and Russian side prepared by the groups of the officers - the syndicates. Such Field Study Trips serve as an excellent instruc- JCGSC officers and directing staff tive method bridging theory with practice as well extremely successfully coordinated Naval, Land developing officers’ critical thinking skills in the and Air Force invasion into the Island of Saaremaa joint operational planning process and at the same which was under the control of Russian forces at time learning more about the history of the Baltic that time.