Colonel Leonhard Hirschmann, German Army (Rtd.)
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
Colonel Leonhard Hirschmann, German Army (Rtd.)
Colonel Hirschmann retired in August 2020 from his assignment as Special Advisor to the Commander of NATO Joint Force Training Centre, Bydgoszcz, Poland after having served the German Armed Forces for more than 46 years.
Colonel Leo Hirschmann joined the German Armed Forces in 1974 as a paratrooper. He graduated from several courses at the German Armed Forces Command and Staff College, the Netherlands Armed Forces Staff College, the United States Infantry School, the United States Defense University and the NATO School.
He served in his home country in different command and staff positions during the Cold War Era and was in command of a Parachute Infantry Battalion after the re-unification of East and West Germany. In the Federal Ministry of Defense, he worked in the areas of Small Arms and Light Weapons Proliferation Control, Disarmament, Demobilization & Reintegration, and Implementation and Development of Conventional Arms Control in Europe.
Colonel Hirschmann's distinguished service as an Army Officer included international assignments at the NATO Headquarters for Land Forces in Central Europe, Heidelberg, Germany, the NATO Joint Headquarters North, Stavanger, Norway, the NATO Joint Force Training Centre, Bydgoszcz, Poland and the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC), Accra, Ghana.
His peacekeeping deployments included tours as Operations Officer, German Operation Refugee Relief Aid, Iran (1991), Deputy Director Joint Operations, NATO Operation Joint Endeavour, Bosnia-Herzegovina (1996) and Chief J5 Plans, NATO Operation Consistent Effort, Kosovo (2001).
In 2004, Colonel Hirschmann became the first German Senior National Representative and Head of Training at the newly established NATO Joint Force Training Centre and made a significant contribution to its successful development.
Colonel Hirschmann served as Director of Training at the KAIPTC, where he was responsible for the development and delivery of integrated peace support operations training for military, police/gendarmerie and civilians preparing for missions in crisis areas in West-Africa.
His experiences with African authorities, but especially his daily interactions with the locals in Accra and other places beyond the borders of Ghana have helped to expand his view of human experience and development practice. The experience continues to shape his worldview and informs his firm belief in the importance of investing in efforts at promoting youth employment as a way of lifting people and communities out of poverty.
Colonel Leonhard Hirschmann, German Army (Rtd.)
Colonel Hirschmann retired in August 2020 from his assignment as Special Advisor to the Commander of NATO Joint Force Training Centre, Bydgoszcz, Poland after having served the German Armed Forces for more than 46 years.
Colonel Leo Hirschmann joined the German Armed Forces in 1974 as a paratrooper. He graduated from several courses at the German Armed Forces Command and Staff College, the Netherlands Armed Forces Staff College, the United States Infantry School, the United States Defense University and the NATO School.
He served in his home country in different command and staff positions during the Cold War Era and was in command of a Parachute Infantry Battalion after the re-unification of East and West Germany. In the Federal Ministry of Defense, he worked in the areas of Small Arms and Light Weapons Proliferation Control, Disarmament, Demobilization & Reintegration, and Implementation and Development of Conventional Arms Control in Europe.
Colonel Hirschmann's distinguished service as an Army Officer included international assignments at the NATO Headquarters for Land Forces in Central Europe, Heidelberg, Germany, the NATO Joint Headquarters North, Stavanger, Norway, the NATO Joint Force Training Centre, Bydgoszcz, Poland and the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC), Accra, Ghana.
His peacekeeping deployments included tours as Operations Officer, German Operation Refugee Relief Aid, Iran (1991), Deputy Director Joint Operations, NATO Operation Joint Endeavour, Bosnia-Herzegovina (1996) and Chief J5 Plans, NATO Operation Consistent Effort, Kosovo (2001).
In 2004, Colonel Hirschmann became the first German Senior National Representative and Head of Training at the newly established NATO Joint Force Training Centre and made a significant contribution to its successful development.
Colonel Hirschmann served as Director of Training at the KAIPTC, where he was responsible for the development and delivery of integrated peace support operations training for military, police/gendarmerie and civilians preparing for missions in crisis areas in West-Africa.
His experiences with African authorities, but especially his daily interactions with the locals in Accra and other places beyond the borders of Ghana have helped to expand his view of human experience and development practice. The experience continues to shape his worldview and informs his firm belief in the importance of investing in efforts at promoting youth employment as a way of lifting people and communities out of poverty.