Brigadier General Gordana Garašić is a Croatian army officer and that country's first female

general officer A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED O ...

. A human resources expert, she has been posted to the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. Garašić has also served as an adviser to the Croatian delegations to NATO and the European Union and as an adviser to the Croatian president.

Career

Garašić joined the Croatian

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

in 1995 after graduating from

law school A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction. Law degrees Argentina In Argentina, ...

. She had intended to join the Ministry of the Interior but reported to the defence ministry by mistake and was appointed as a senior counsellor in the Human Resources department. The country was at that time fighting the

Croatian War of Independence The Croatian War of Independence was fought from 1991 to 1995 between Croat forces loyal to the Government of Croatia—which had declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY)—and the Serb-controlled Yugosl ...

. Garašić has served as an adviser to the Croatian delegations to NATO and the European Union and as a defence adviser to the President of Croatia. Garašić was posted to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan for six months in 2010 as head of personal affairs in Regional Command North. She also studied at the

Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy The Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy (Eisenhower School), formerly known as the Industrial College of the Armed Forces (ICAF), is a part of the National Defense University. It was renamed on September 6, 20 ...

in the United States. Garašić was promoted to the rank of colonel in 2011. On 1 April 2014 Garašić was promoted to the temporary rank of brigadier general prior to her posting as adviser for gender issues to ISAF. She became the first Croatian woman to hold general rank. In Afghanistan Garašić oversaw the introduction of an all-female facility for the Afghan National Police's elite Crisis Response Units. Her contribution to the integration of women into the police force was recognised in December 2014 when the Afghan government awarded her a medal for achievement. Garašić was appointed to the permanent rank of brigadier general in 2015 and is currently Deputy Director of RACVIAC, an international security co-operation mission based in Croatia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garasic, Gordana Female army generals Croatian army officers Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy alumni Military personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Living people Year of birth missing (living people)