{"id":11811,"date":"2014-05-16T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-05-16T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ndc.nato.int\/the-ndc-hosts-the-generals-flag-officers-and-ambassadors-course-gfoac-2014-1\/"},"modified":"2026-01-15T09:08:27","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T08:08:27","slug":"the-ndc-hosts-the-generals-flag-officers-and-ambassadors-course-gfoac-2014-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ndc.nato.int\/fr\/the-ndc-hosts-the-generals-flag-officers-and-ambassadors-course-gfoac-2014-1\/","title":{"rendered":"The NDC hosts the Generals, Flag Officers and Ambassadors’ Course \u2013 GFOAC 2014-1"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Participants
Participants to the General, Flag Officers and Ambassadors’ Course 2014-1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

From 12 to 16 May 2014, the Generals, Flag Officers and Ambassadors’ Course (GFOAC 2014-1) took place at the NATO Defense College (NDC), bringing together 41 high-level civilian and military participants from NATO countries, the Partnership for Peace (PfP), the Mediterranean Dialogue (MD) and the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI), as well as Global Partners.<\/p>\n

In his welcoming remarks to the Course, entitled \u201cShifting security paradigms \u2013 implications for NATO?\u201d, BrigGen Gerd Bischof (DEU F), GFOAC Course Director and Head of the Division of Academic Planning and Policy at the NDC, described both the Course\u2019s purpose and content. <\/p>\n

The opening lecture by Prof Christopher Coker (GBR) provided a detailed and stimulating focus on \u201cCultural Dialogue: the Western Encounter with the Rest\u201d. The topic of the afternoon lecture delivered by Mr Michael R\u00fchle (NATO\/DEU) was \u201cNATO: Beyond the next Summit\u201d. In his talk, Mr R\u00fchle gave a brilliant overview of the various challenges facing NATO at the upcoming summit in Wales, and beyond, setting the scene for a most interesting and comprehensive Q&A session. <\/p>\n

On Tuesday 13 May, GFOAC Course Members enjoyed two interesting lectures in a panel entitled \u201cThe Transatlantic Link: the Cornerstone of the Alliance\u201d. The two speakers, Mr Stan Sloan (USA) and Prof Dr Carlo Masala (DEU) briefed the audience on possible future challenges facing the Alliance, highlighting the continuing need for the Transatlantic Link on both sides of the Atlantic. In the afternoon, a motivating lecture on \u201cThe Changing Character of Insurgencies and Small Wars\u201d was given by Dr David Kilcullen (AUS).<\/p>\n

The next day, the focus of attention moved eastwards with lectures from Prof Fawaz A. Gerges (USA\/LEB) and Prof Mustapha Benchenane (FRA), who spoke about \u201cThe Middle East and North Africa\u201d. During the afternoon, Dr Jonathan Holslag (BEL) delivered a lecture on \u201cThe Security Implications of the Rise of China\u201d. Later still, in a videoconference with Gen Joseph F. Dunford, the Commander of ISAF candidly described the \u201cStrategic Challenge of NATO\u2019s Operation in Afghanistan\u201d. <\/p>\n

The programme for Thursday 15 May offered a fascinating combination of topics: \u201cTechnological Development: Risks and Opportunities\u201d, addressed by Prof Dr Holger Mey (DEU), and \u201cCyber strategy: Old Paradigms meet New Challenges\u201d, on which Prof Paul Cornish (GBR) lectured in the early afternoon.<\/p>\n

On the last day of the Course, the attention was on \u201cShifting Security Paradigms: Implications for NATO?\u201d by Robert B. Brannon (USA), Dean of the George C. Marshall Center in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, who gave a frank and personal view of Russia\u2019s relationship with the West, in the light of recent developments in Ukraine. <\/p>\n

In his closing remarks, BrigGen Bischof summarized key messages from the week\u2019s lectures and discussions, thanking all participants for their contribution to the GFOAC; a course which is proving to be increasingly well-attended by high-level participants from a growing number of countries. <\/p>\n

NDC Public Affairs Office
(Prepared by Ms Giordana Mongardini, ITA C)<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Participants to the General, Flag Officers and Ambassadors’ Course 2014-1 From 12 to 16 May 2014, the Generals,<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","editor_plus_copied_stylings":"{}","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"post_badge":[],"class_list":["post-11811","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"featured_image_src":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"NDC","author_link":"https:\/\/www.ndc.nato.int\/fr\/author\/admin_3rwqf6tj\/"},"modified_by":null,"author_meta":{"display_name":"NDC","author_link":"https:\/\/www.ndc.nato.int\/fr\/author\/admin_3rwqf6tj\/"},"featured_img":null,"featured_image_urls":{"full":"","thumbnail":"","medium":"","medium_large":"","large":"","1536x1536":"","2048x2048":"","trp-custom-language-flag":"","morenews-featured":"","morenews-large":"","morenews-medium":""},"category_info":"News<\/a>","tag_info":"News","comment_count":0,"coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["News<\/a>"],"unlinked":["News<\/span>"]}},"relative_dates":{"created":"Publi\u00e9 12 ans il y a","modified":"Mis \u00e0 jour 6 mois il y a"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Publi\u00e9 le mai 16, 2014","modified":"Mise \u00e0 jour le janvier 15, 2026"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Publi\u00e9 le mai 16, 2014 17:00","modified":"Mise \u00e0 jour le janvier 15, 2026 09:08"},"featured_img_caption":"","series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ndc.nato.int\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11811","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ndc.nato.int\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ndc.nato.int\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ndc.nato.int\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ndc.nato.int\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11811"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ndc.nato.int\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11811\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ndc.nato.int\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11811"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ndc.nato.int\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11811"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ndc.nato.int\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11811"},{"taxonomy":"post_badge","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ndc.nato.int\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_badge?post=11811"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}