SC 135 – European Security Perspectives II Field Study: Zagreb

On Tuesday 17 December, Senior Course 135 visited the ‘Dr Franjo Tudman’ Croatian Defence Academy (CDA) in Zagreb.

The NDC delegation, led by Commandant LGEN Chris Whitecross, was welcomed by MGEN Paden, CDA Commandant. Also present in the Dr Franjo Tudman Auditorium were students of the Ban Josip Jelacic War College.

Mr Sebastián Rogag, Special Presidential Adviser on Foreign Policy, opened the morning session with a briefing entitled ‘Political and Military Aspects of Croatia’s NATO and EU Membership’. He identified energy, transportation and digitalization as the three mainstays of Croatian security strategy, underlining the key role of Central Europe in the overall framework of European Union resilience.

The next speaker was COL Emilio Turina, Deputy J5 Croatian Joint Staff, who briefed SC 135 on Croatian strategic documents. Illustrating the Croatian National Security Strategy 2017 and the Homeland Security Law, he contextualized the role of the Croatian Armed Forces in national defence. He also looked at the implications for Croatia of NATO and EU membership.

After the coffee break, COL Bozemko Devoic, Dean of the ‘Dr Franjo Tudman’ CDA, spoke about the CDA, its history, structure and courses. He also explained the main features of the new academic curricula planned for the next few years, with a view to the CDA becoming the Croatian Defence and Security University.

In the afternoon, SC 135 visited the HS Produkt armaments factory at Karlovac. Course Members were welcomed by General Manager Mr Zelijo Pavlin, Head of Sales Mr Branimira Josipovic, and Rifle Production Manager Mr Hrvoje Japuncic. The visit afforded the NDC group a valuable opportunity to appreciate the excellent standards set by the Croatian armaments industry.

NDC Public Affairs Office