A chief of defence (or head of defence) is the highest ranked commissioned officer of a nation's armed forces. The acronym CHOD is in common use within NATO and the European Union (EU) as a generic term for the highest national military position within the NATO and EU member states, rather than the actual term used for individual positions. Thus, irrespective of the formal national designation of that position is some variation on Commander-in-Chief, Chief of Staff, Supreme Commander, or something else, they can all be referred to unambiguously as CHODs in NATO and EU terminology, although other terms are sometimes also seen within NATO. Thus, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is the CHOD of the United States, the chief of the defence staff is the CHOD of the United Kingdom, the Inspector General of the Bundeswehr is the CHOD of Germany, and the Chief of Defence (Forsvarssjefen) is the CHOD of Norway.
Both NATO and the EU occasionally hold CHODs meetings of the NATO Military Committee and the European Union Military Committee respectively.
Chief of defence positions in NATO member countries Within member states of NATO, the following national positions are the CHOD positions. Sometimes more than one form of translation into English is encountered.
Country Position Alternative translations Term in national language Chief of the General StaffNATO: Chief of the General Staff of Belgium, accessed on October 30, 2008 Chief of Defence Chief of Defence Montenegrin: Начелник Генералштаба / Načelnik Generalštaba Chief of the General Staff Commander of the Armed ForcesNATO: Commander of the Turkish Armed Forces, accessed on October 30, 2008
In 2018 Slovenia appointed the first female Major General Alenka Ermenc to hold such a position in the history of NATO and Slovenia.
CHOD positions by non-NATO EU country
Within the EU member states that are not members of NATO, the following national positions are the CHOD positions.
Country Position Alternative translations Term in national language used for the position
Other Chief of Defence positions by (non-NATO and non-EU) country Note that in many countries outside of NATO and EU, the concept of civilian control of the military is inapplicable. In some countries the minister of defence is often a senior military officer. However, the list below only lists CHOD equivalents and not defense ministers.
Country Position Alternative translations Term in national language used for the position Chief of the Defence Staff Chief of General StaffCommanding General of the People's Liberation Army General Staff Department Commander of the Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters Chief of the General Staff of the People's Army of Vietnam
Notes
References
External links NATO Chiefs of Defence