On June 14, Mr Ben Hodges, a retired Lieutenant General of the US Army and former commander of the US Army in Europe, delivered the ninth lecture at the National University of Ostroh Academy. The lecture topic was "Building and Strengthening the Capacity of the Ukrainian Army".
The meeting was moderated by Eduard Balashov, Doctor of Science (Psychology), Full Professor, and Assistant Rector for International Cooperation and Fundraising of the NaUOA.
The most important quotes from the lecture of Mr Ben Hodges:
- "There are a lot of women in military, where they do a big contribution. Women are good at intelligence and drone operating. They should be able to join the military in the position they would like to be in and where they would be very useful. I think it would change the balance. Men in the military are traditional, but we do not have enough people; that is why we need to scale up and let women join the military and be effective there."
- "I think it is important to develop leadership programs
- at schools and universities because it is very important to bring up new leaders."
- The soviet mindset on military is tied with the army, where soldiers are treated like prisoners. Every soldier should be treated in an appropriate way. This is how the state would improve its military. The President and Prime Minister should work hard to erase the soviet mindset in the Ukrainian military."
- "The military is the only institution to have a legal authority to kill. This is an incredible responsibility given by the state. Army has prosecutors to administrate justice. Soldiers are citizens too, so they have to be protected by the law as well. Soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan were always reminded that they can't just kill and that their deeds entail consequences; discipline was and is very important."
- "It is a very competitive process to join the army in some countries. But this competitive process is not only because of the prestige of the military but because of the state willing to have highly professional military. To achieve this, the government should ensure that women and men are trained and treated properly."
- "To join the military, people should be prepared first of all mentally; they should talk to their family, and their decision should be respected. Also, the person in question should be prepared to provide first aid and to know how to use a weapon. People should understand that they can endure much more than they think."
