Change of Command in the NATO Centre of Excellence for Military Medicine

On October 22, 2025, the NATO MILMED COE Change of Command ceremony took place in Budapest. In line with the rotation plan between Germany and Hungary, Brigadier General Dr. Jens Diehm took over the Director’s position of NATO MILMED COE from Colonel Dr. László Fazekas, who has been the Director of the Centre since 2022.

Representing the Minister of Defence of Hungary, State Secretary Dr. Zsolt Kutnyánszky and representing the Commander of the Hungarian Defence Forces, Major General Zoltán Somogyi participated in the ceremony. Among others, the Surgeons General of the NATO MILMED COE member states took part in the ceremony as well, including Colonel Dr. Ferenc Orosz, the Surgeon General of the Hungarian Defence Forces.

Colonel Dr. László Fazekas first started his career at NATO MILMED COE in 2008, as the Chief of the Training Branch and went on to be the deputy director in 2014, and from 2016 to 2019 he led the organization as Director. During the COVID-19 period, he worked as ACOS/JMED Medical Adviser at the Allied Command Operations, and from 2022 to 2025 he held the position of Director of the NATO MILMED COE for the second time.

State Secretary Dr. Zsolt Kutnyánszky in his address pointed out, that the MILMED COE strengthens our collective capabilities, which are essential for overcoming the challenges of today’s complex operational environment. Therefore, the institution is not only of strategic importance to NATO, but also to us, Hungarians, as its proud framework nation. As he emphasized, members of the Hungarian Defence Forces’ medical personnel have gained essential knowledge through their participation in the Centre’s courses. This knowledge they have since been able to apply in various multinational exercises. Among these were the Vigorous Warrior 2024 live exercise and the Adaptive Hussars 2025, both in Hungary, the latter being a comprehensive national defence exercise conducted within NATO frameworks involving both military and governmental actors. The Vigorous Warrior is the Alliance’s only dedicated military medical exercise, which last year brought together 1600 personnel from 35 nations.

In his speech, Colonel Dr. László Fazekas emphasized the developments of the Centre in the recent years. As he recalled, when he assumed command as Director three years ago, it was just after the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Russian–Ukrainian war had already been ongoing for several months. These circumstances greatly influenced the Centre’s strategic priorities. The organization has thus become a leading unit within the Alliance in processing and sharing military medical lessons.

The COE has also set out to create a tangible, working early warning system for infectious diseases based on signs and symptoms, which culminated in the Near-real-time Surveillance Project. The tool has been extensively tested over the past two years in NATO missions and during the Coalition Warrior Interoperability Exercises, the Clean Care Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear medical exercise series, and the Vigorous Warrior exercises.

Finally, he expressed his appreciation and gratitude to the sponsoring nations of the Centre, to the partner countries, to the staff of the Centre, and to their families as well.

Brigadier General Dr. Jens Diehm, the new Director of the NATO MILMED COE talked about that the solid foundation built so far enables us not only to preserve what is good, but also to recognize what is better, and ultimately to strive for the best. He also committed to hard work for the following years in order to ensure that the COE stays relevant in military-medicine.