Georgian leader added to CGSC International Hall of Fame

The Command and General Staff College added the Chief of the General Staff of the Georgian Armed Forces to its International Hall of Fame on Aug. 23 at the Lewis and Clark Center on Fort Leavenworth. The induction brings to 278 the number of leaders who have been honored from the more than 8,000 international officers who have graduated from the college.

Lt. Gen. Michael Lundy, Commanding General of the Combined Arms Center and Fort Leavenworth, and Commandant of the Command and General Staff College, left, congratulates Maj. Gen. Chachibaia on his induction into the International Hall of Fame, Aug. 23, at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. (photo by Mark H. Wiggins)

CGSC Commandant Lt. Gen. Michael Lundy and Major General Vladimer Chachibaia, Chief of the General Staff of the Georgian Armed Forces, posed with the portrait of Chachibaia that will be displayed in the International Hall of Fame gallery in the Lewis and Clark Center. (Photo by Jim Shea/ArmyU Public Affairs)

CGSC Foundation Vice Chair for Military Affairs, Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Richard F. Keller, presents an eagle statuette to Major General Vladimer Chachibaia, Georgian Army, in honor of his induction into the International Hall of Fame and signifying his status as a Life Constituent of the CGSC Foundation.
(Photo by Jim Shea/ArmyU Public Affairs)

CGSC Foundation Chair Emeritus Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Robert Arter congratulates Major General Vladimer Chachibaia, Chief of the General Staff of the Georgian Armed Forces, after the IHOF ceremony.
(photo by Mark H. Wiggins)

CGSC Foundation President/CEO Col. (Ret.) Doug Tystad takes a photo with Major General Vladimer Chachibaia, Chief of the General Staff of the Georgian Armed Forces, after presenting him with a Foundation coin. (photo by Mark H. Wiggins)

Major General Vladimer Chachibaia is the second International Hall of Fame member from Georgia. He graduated from CGSC in 2003 and is the first member of that class to be inducted into the International Hall of Fame. He was appointed to his present position in December 2016.

Chachibaia received military education mainly in Georgia and United States. After graduating from the United Military Academy in Tbilisi, Georgia, in 1994, he continued his studies in the United States. He attended CGSC from 2002 to 2003 and graduated from the U.S. Army War College in 2008. He also earned a Law degree from Customs Academy of Georgia, in 2004.

Lt. Gen. Michael Lundy, Commanding General of the Combined Arms Center and Fort Leavenworth, and Commandant of the Command and General Staff College said that in his short time with Maj. Gen. Chachibaia the thing that struck him the most was it felt like they were friends. “The bonds that our nations have built together, and the bonds that we’ve built through the interactions we’ve had as professional Soldiers, as Soldiers of this profession of arms, we’ve got lots of commonalities,” said Lundy. “And it makes it very easy for us to talk, to discuss, and to understand, even though we may have slightly different appreciation or slightly different understanding of what it is we’re talking about. It made it very easy.”

Chachibaia continued that thinking in his acceptance remarks. “This institution gave me great knowledge and very fundamental values that I was carrying all the time. There was no day that I was not blessing my instructors for the knowledge they gave me,” he said.

He said because of the knowledge he and others received (there are three students from Georgia in this year’s class) at CGSC they were able to radically change the Georgian armed forces in the last two years. “You cannot imagine how easy it makes it when you go to a theatre [of operations] and you find your classmates, your friends,” said Chachibaia. He explained that in his last assignment to Afghanistan he encountered senior leaders from France and Australia who were his classmates. He said having these connections shortened coordination time from months to days. This was the case even with officers that he did not know but who graduated in the same CGSC class as him. This bond is becoming very strong and powerful,” he said.

Chachibaia encouraged U.S. officials to do the maximum to continue to invite internationals to military schools. “You will win without war in many regions when you create educated, pro-western, democratic, values-based individuals in different parts of the globe,” he said. “This is like a club, and this club can change the world. Our guys together are fighting side-by-side in Afghanistan. We did in ISAF. We did in Iraq, and we will do where ever our presence is required. This brotherhood bond is very strong and there is no power that can change or shake this bond,” said Chachibaia.

The senior military member of the Georgian Armed Forces started his military service as a private in the Air Forces of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant, after the graduation from the United Military Academy in 1994 and has served in several command and leadership positions including the 25th Infantry Brigade, Reconnaissance Battalion, Special Forces Brigade, I Infantry Brigade, and Land Forces. He also served as Deputy Chief of the Joint Staff of the Georgian Armed Forces, First Deputy Minister of Defense, and Senior Counselor at the Embassy of Georgia (United States, Canada and Mexico). Additionally he served as a Senior Military Advisor in the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.

The CGSC International Hall of Fame was established by the college, the Greater Kansas City Chapter of the Military Order of the World Wars and the CGSC Foundation in 1973. To be nominated for the International Hall of Fame an officer must be a graduate of CGSC and have attained, by merit, the position of leader of his or her country’s army or defense forces. In addition to being inducted into the Hall of Fame, inductees are presented a CGSC certificate of honor by the Military Order of the World Wars and a Life Constituent Certificate by the Foundation. Officers from 73 countries have been inducted into the hall. Fifteen International Hall of Fame members have gone on to be heads of state or heads of government in their countries.

International military student participation in cooperative military studies in the United States originated at Fort Leavenworth with the arrival of Swiss Lieutenant Henri Le Comte in 1894. Since then, international students, representing 165 countries, have become an integral part of the Fort Leavenworth experience. These talented military officers contribute to a rich professional and cultural exchange environment.

For more photos from the ceremony see the album on the CGSC Foundation Flickr site

See the full ceremony below….or follow this link to the CGSC Foundation youtube channel:
https://youtu.be/EWd-8HtlKGM