Hellenic Army General Staff
The Hellenic Army General Staff (Greek: Γενικό Επιτελείο Στρατού, abbrev. ΓΕΣ) is the general staff of the Hellenic Army, the terrestrial component of the Greek Armed Forces. It was established in 1904. Since 1950, the HAGS is subordinated to the Hellenic National Defence General Staff. Historically, most Chiefs of Staff have come from the Artillery arm.
History
Although the first regular army units were raised as early as 1821–1822, on the outbreak of the Greek War of Independence, the first rudimentary general staff organization, in the form of the General Staff Officers Corps (Σώμα Γενικών Επιτελών), was created only in 1833, after the establishment of the independent Kingdom of Greece. The first attempt to create a permanent staff service was made in 1877, when the Army General Staff was first instituted. The experiment was short-lived, however, as it and the General Staff Officers Corps were abolished in 1880, and replaced by a simple Staff Service Bureau within the Ministry of Military Affairs.
Hellenic Army
The Hellenic Army (Greek: Ελληνικός Στρατός, Ellinikós Stratós), formed in 1828, is the land force of Greece. Along with the Hellenic Air Force (HAF) and the Hellenic Navy (HN), it makes up the Hellenic Armed Forces. It is currently the largest branch of the three. The army is headed by the chief of the Hellenic Army General Staff (HAGS), which in turn is under the command of Hellenic National Defence General Staff (HNDGS).
The motto of the Hellenic Army is Ἐλεύθερον τὸ Εὔψυχον (Eleútheron tò Eúpsychon), "Freedom Stems from Valour", from Thucydides's History of the Peloponnesian War (2.43.4). The Hellenic Army Emblem is the two-headed eagle with a Greek Cross escutcheon in the centre, representing the links between modern Greece, the Greek Orthodox Church, and the Byzantine Empire.
The Hellenic Army, apart from being the largest component participating in it, is also leading the Balkan Battle Group (otherwise known as "HELBROC" (an acronym for HELlas, Bulgaria, ROmania and Cyprus)), which is the largest military formation of NATO in Southeast Europe.
Staff (military)
A military staff (often referred to as General Staff, Army Staff, Navy Staff or Air Staff within the individual services) is a group of officers and enlisted personnel that are responsible for the administrative, operational and logistical needs of its unit. It provides bi-directional flow of information between a commanding officer and subordinate military units. A staff also provides an executive function where it filters information needed by the commander or shunts unnecessary information.
Military staff functions
Information management
One of the key purposes of a military staff is to provide accurate, timely information (which includes the results of contingency planning) on which command decisions are based. A goal is being able to suggest approaches or help produce well-informed decisions that will effectively manage and conserve unit resources.
In addition to generating information, the staff also manages the flow of communication within the unit and around it. While controlled information flow toward the commander is a priority, those useful or contingent in nature are communicated to lower-level units and/or through their respective staffs. If the information is not pertinent to the unit, it is redirected to the command level which can best utilize the condition or information.
General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army
General Staff (Vietnamese: Bộ Tổng tham mưu) is the commanding and managing organisation of the Vietnam People's Army, the paramilitary forces, militia and other activities relating to defence of Vietnam. The General Staff was established on 7 September 1945, right after the foundation of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, the first Chief of the General Staff was General Hoàng Văn Thái. During the Second Indochina War, Vietnam War, Cambodian-Vietnamese War, Sino-Vietnamese War and other skirmishes, the General Staff always had an essential role in organising, commanding the armed forces and planning, operating military campaigns for the Ministry of Defence and the Government of Vietnam. The current Chief of the General Staff is General Đỗ Bá Tỵ who also holds the position of Deputy Minister of Defence.
History and roles
Right after the August Revolution and the foundation of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam on 2 September 1945, the General Staff was established on 7 September 1945. The first Chief of the General Staff was Major General Hoàng Văn Thái who held the position from 1945 to 1953. During the existence of the General Headquarters of the Vietnam People's Army (Bộ Tổng tư lệnh Quân đội Nhân dân Việt Nam), which had been the supreme commanding organ of the armed forces from 1946 to 1975, the General Staff was directly under the General Headquarters and acted as staff of the General Headquarters according to the decree No. 47/SL which was issued on 1 May 1947.
General Staff (Germany)
The General Staff of the German Army (German: Führungsstab des Heeres) was a department of the Federal Ministry of Defence and one of the five staff headquarters in the military command of the Bundeswehr. The General Staff was thus at the same time a ministerial division and the highest level of military command within the German Army. It was merged with the other high command authorities of the German Army to form the Army Command (Kommando Heer) in 2012.
Command
The General Staff was commanded by the Inspector of the Army (Inspekteur des Heeres). The Inspector holds the rank of lieutenant general (Generalleutnant), and commanded the General Staff, reporting to the Federal Minister of Defence. The General Inspector of the Bundeswehr and the Defence Staff who work for him are only authorised to issue directives to the General Staff in the fields of development and the realisation of the overall concept for the Bundeswehr. The General Staff comprised about 180 soldiers and civil servants.
