Chief of defence explained

A chief of defence (or head of defence) is the highest ranked commissioned officer of a nation's armed forces. The acronym 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 individual positions. Thus, irrespective of the formal national designation of that position is some variation on Commander-in-Chief, Chief of Staff, Supreme Commander, or something else, they can all be referred to unambiguously as CHODs in NATO and EU terminology, although other terms are sometimes also seen within NATO. Thus, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is the CHOD of the United States, the Chief of the Defence Staff is the CHOD of the United Kingdom, the Inspector General of the Bundeswehr is the CHOD of Germany, and the Chief of Defence (Forsvarssjefen) is the CHOD of Norway.

Both NATO and the EU occasionally hold CHODs meetings of the NATO Military Committee and the European Union Military Committee respectively.

Chief of defence positions in NATO member countries

Within member states of NATO, the following national positions are the CHOD positions. Sometimes more than one form of translation into English is encountered.

Country Position Alternative translations Term in national language
Chief of the General Staff[1]

Chief of Defence[2] [3]
Chief of Defence
German: Chef des Generalstabs
Montenegrin: Начелник Генералштаба / Načelnik Generalštaba
Chief of the General Staff
Commander of the Armed Forces[4]

In 2018 Slovenia appointed the first female Major General Alenka Ermenc to hold such a position in the history of NATO and Slovenia.[5] [6] [7]

CHOD positions by non-NATO EU country

Within the EU member states that are not members of NATO, the following national positions are the CHOD positions.

Country Position Alternative translations Term in national language used for the position

Other Chief of Defence positions by (non-NATO and non-EU) country

Note that in many countries outside of NATO and EU, the concept of civilian control of the military is inapplicable. In some countries the minister of defence is often a senior military officer. However, the list below only lists CHOD equivalents and not defense ministers.

Country Position Alternative translations Term in national language used for the position
Chief of the Defence Staff

Spanish; Castilian: Jefe del Estado Mayor Conjunto de la Defensa
Chief of General Staff
Commanding General of the People's Liberation Army General Staff Department
Spanish; Castilian: Comandante General de las Fuerzas Militares
Spanish; Castilian: Jefe del Comando Conjunto de las Fuerzas Armadas
Amharic: ጦር ኃይሎች ጠቅላይ ሹም
Georgian: თავდაცვის ძალების გენერალური შტაბის უფროსი
Spanish; Castilian: Jefe del Estado Mayor
Hindi: रक्षा प्रमुख
Japanese: 統合幕僚長
Бас штабының бастығы / Bas ştabynyñ bastyğy
Russian: Начальник Генерального штаба
Kirghiz; Kyrgyz: Башкы штабынын башчысы
Russian: Начальник Генерального штаба
Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: Șef al Marelui Stat Major
French: Le Commandant supérieur de la Force publique
Urdu: صدرنشین مجلسِ مشترکہَ رؤسائے افواجِ پاکستان
Spanish; Castilian: Jefe del Comando Conjunto de las Fuerzas Armadas
Tagalog: Hepe ng Sandatahang Lakas
Russian: Начальник Генерального штаба
Italian: Comandante Superiore delle Milizie
Serbian: Начелник Генералштаба
Chinese: 三军总长
Somali: Taliyaha Xooga Qalabka
Korean: 합동참모의장
French: Chef de l'Armée
German: Chef der Armee
Italian: Capo dell'Esercito
Romansh: Schef da l'Armada
Arabic: رئيس هيئة الأركان العامة للجيش والقوات المسلحة
Tajik: Сардори Ситоди генералӣ
Russian: Начальник Генерального штаба
Commander of the Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters Thai: ผู้บัญชาการทหารสูงสุด
Ukrainian: Головнокомандувач Збройних сил України
Spanish; Castilian: Jefe del Estado Mayor de la Defensa
German: Kommandant der Päpstlichen Schweizergarde
French: Commandant de la Garde Suisse Pontificale
Italian: Comandante della Guardia Svizzera Pontificia
Latin: Praefecti Pontificalis Custodiae Helveticae
Chief of the General Staff of the People's Army of Vietnam Vietnamese: Tổng Tham mưu trưởng Quân đội Nhân dân

External links

Notes and References

  1. http://www.nato.int/cv/chod/be/van-daele.htm NATO: Chief of the General Staff of Belgium
  2. Web site: NATO: Chief of Defence – Germany . NATO . 29 November 2018 . 15 May 2018.
  3. Web site: The Chief of Defence. bmvg.de. The German Government. 14 September 2017.
  4. http://www.nato.int/cv/chod/tu/basbug.htm NATO: Commander of the Turkish Armed Forces
  5. News: Nato state appoints first female head of armed forces. 27 November 2018. BBC News. 28 November 2018.
  6. Web site: Reuters . Slovenia Appoints First Female Army Chief . VOA news . 28 November 2018 . 27 November 2018.
  7. Web site: Slovenia Appoints First Female Head of Armed Forces . 29 November 2018 . Sentinelassam.com . 2018-11-29.