Foreign Languages and Cultural Awareness - A Must in The Education of The 21^st Century European Military Leaders

Europe is characterized by both geographical and cultural diversity. At present, the European countries are under deep transformations due to the migratory trends. These special events need measures not only at the political level but also at the military, social and economic one. By being aware and accepting all these changes, mainly the cultural ones, we have to be open and adapt ourselves to the new context in which we have to be able to accept that our existence with its norms, values, customs and traditions is not unique. The language competences contribute to the mobility, employability and personal development of its citizens, in particular, the young people. As far as the military environment is concerned, we believe that it is of utmost importance not only to speak a common language but also to know the culture of the partners we cooperate with, as well as that of the local populations from various theatres of operations. At the level of our institutions, we tried to integrate into the curriculum topics that help our students, future military leaders, to be ready to efficiently answer to the new changes that they will face in a new military environment. In our paper, we will highlight the ways we can promote the development of our learners’ linguistic and cultural competencies.