The David Aghmashenebeli National Defence Academy ( ka, დავით აღმაშენებლის ეროვნული თავდაცვის აკადემია, tr) also known commonly as the ETA is the main military institution for the educational training of senior officers in the

Defence Forces of Georgia The Defence Forces of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს თავდაცვის ძალები, tr), or Georgian Defence Forces (GDF), are the combined military forces of Georgia (country), Georgia, tasked with the defence of ...

. It is a legal entity under the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. It is a LEPL (leading higher military Institution), which aims to indoctrinate officers with some of the highest academic and military education standards. The current rector of the ETA is Brigadier General Malkhaz Makaradze.

History

The Georgian military education dates back to 1862 when the first military school was established in Tbilisi. On the occasion of Georgia obtaining its independence in 1918, the Commanders-in-Chief of the Democratic Republic of Georgia, Major General Giorgi Kvinitadze established the Georgian Junkers Military School". After the

Red Army invasion of Georgia The Red Army invasion of Georgia (12 February17 March 1921), also known as the Georgian–Soviet War or the Soviet invasion of Georgia,Debo, R. (1992). ''Survival and Consolidation: The Foreign Policy of Soviet Russia, 1918-1921'', pp. 182, 361� ...

in early 1921, the school ceased to exist. During

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

and Georgian Communist Party rule, the school was transformed into an institution of

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

students, later being renamed to the

Tbilisi Higher Artillery Command School The Tbilisi Higher Artillery Command School () was one of the military institutions of the USSR. In different years she trained specialists of various military specialties. It was located in Tbilisi in the Georgian SSR. History The school was f ...

, which was abolished in 1992 upon the restoration of independence. On 28 May 1993 based on the order of Defence Minister Giorgi Karkarashvili, the United Military Academy of the Republic of Georgia was created. It began operating on 1 September 1993. On 20 February 2003, the Academy was given the honorific prefix of "David Aghmashenebeli" (

David IV of Georgia David IV, also known as David IV the Builder ( ka, დავით IV აღმაშენებელი, tr; 1073 – 24 January 1125), of the Bagrationi dynasty, was the 5th king ('' mepe'') of the Kingdom of Georgia from 1089 until his d ...

in English. Six years later, it changed its location to Gori, where it still operates today. In late 2010, the ETA underwent a new process for reforms, which included the NCEQE Council for the authorization of the ETA's status as the highest educational institution. The following year, it received support from the Georgia–Georgia National Guard Partnership.

Student life

The length of studies at the ETA had been defined for 4 years. In 2005, due to the need for the growth of the personnel strength of the Georgian Armed Forces" the system of the Academy has been transformed to retain only the 18-month-long officer training courses. Upon entry into the academy, cadets sign a contract with the MoD for 10 years of military service, of which 4 years are dedicated to studies and 6 years of which is consequent military service. Cadets receive the rank of

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

upon graduation. The students at the Academy were called "Listeners", which in 2014 was changed to "Junkers" in order to honour the original Junkers who died in service to the

Democratic Republic of Georgia The Democratic Republic of Georgia (DRG; ka, საქართველოს დემოკრატიული რესპუბლიკა, tr) was the first modern establishment of a republic of Georgia (country), Georgia, which exist ...

. The Academic Council is a governing body of NDA, with its authority being defined under the law "Regarding Higher Education". The tasks of the council include presenting the ETA and creating and approving internal legislation. Since 2018, the ETA hosted a summer school known as "My World", with the support of the Embassy of the United States, Tbilisi.

Structure

Currently, the departments are operating at the ETA: *Leadership personnel **Rector **Deputy Rector **Deputy Rector **Head of Administration *Quality Assurance Service *Internal Audit Service *International Relations Division *Educational Service *Bachelor School *Command and General Staff College *Junior Officer School *Language Training School *Examination Center *Library *Psychological Service Section *Scientific Research Center *Training Battalion *Army Service Section *Finance Management Division *Procurement Section *HR Management Section *Public Relations Section *Chancellory *Legal Division *Material and Technical Support Section *Logistical Support Section *Signals and Information Technology Section *Medical Center *Sports Complex In September 2015, the ETA graduated its first class of baccalaureate school cadets.

Notable alumni

* Giorgi Matiashvili, the incumbent Chief of Georgian Defence Forces.

References

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External links