A 15-man delegation from Poland’s National Defence University, led by the Commandant-Rector Major General Romuald RATAJCZAK with Brigadier General (Ret) Zenon SMUTNIAK, visited the NATO Defense College on 13 June.
Major General RATAJCZAK and Brigadier General (Ret) SMUTNIAK had an Office Call with the Dean of the NATO Defense College, Dr Richard D. HOOKER Jr, during which General RATAJCZAK, on behalf of Poland’s Minister of Defence, presented the Dean with a Polish Armed Forces Medal in recognition of the then Colonel HOOKER’s close collaboration with the POL contingent in Afghanistan.
Following a tour of the College lead by Colonel Miroslaw WOJCIK (POL SNR – AF), the delegation convened in the Eisenhower Room for a briefing about the NATO Defense College by the Dean, Dr Richard D. HOOKER Jr. The Dean described the College’s main core activities and spoke at length about the need for cooperation and collaboration between similar institutions and the NDC. Dean HOOKER spoke about the unique academic environment offered by the College whereby both civilian and military individuals from all over the world can meet and learn from each other in an atmosphere of true academic freedom and mutual respect.
In his reply, General RATAJCZAK thanked the Dean for his thought-provoking briefing and said that there were definite lessons to be learnt by the University from the NDC’s 60-plus years’ experience. He lauded the NDC for our level of academic freedom – an attribute rarely found in other military academic institutions.
NDC Public Affairs Office
Collège de Défense de l'OTAN 
