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An interview with SSMS alumnus Arnis Cimermanis

By Anna Vlugt, Editor-in-Chief

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Introduction

In a recent conversation with SSMS alumnus Arnis Cimermanis, we delved into his experience as an SSMS student, his internship, career post-graduation, as well as his Latvian roots. This article will discuss Cimermanis’ life, focusing on the steps he has taken to reach his current position, and will provide advice on how current SSMS students can achieve their own goals.

Time at SSMS

The current Head of Section of International Engagement/Involvement at the Latvian Ministry of Defense started as a student in SSMS, attempting to find his niche. “Year one gives you the broad framing of things – how to think about things and how to see them.” After year one, however, his direction became clear: “In year two, I realized – this is what I want to do; International security. That’s where I’m going.” 

Although Cimermanis realized his passion in year two, it was not until he began his minors in the third year of SSMS that things really became set in stone, “I picked [Intelligence Collection and Analysis] and the other one I did was Terrorism and Counterterrorism … I think those were the ones that sort of … really sent me in … I’m gonna go [into] international security. There was no real question after that … this is it. I have one choice, one opportunity. You just go for it.” 

While certain classes may have shaped his career and interests more than others, Cimermanis saw value in all the courses he studied at SSMS. Despite not being perfectly related to his interests, courses like Fundamentals of Academic Writing and Applied Research Techniques (otherwise known as ‘skills’ courses) were instrumental in shaping him into the professional he is today, “ … I definitely [see the importance of skills courses], but I’ve noticed it also really depends on the area you end up in and also the culture you end up in. When I was in the US, [formality was] a lot more prevalent, the whole corporate speak, the whole politeness … seniority is much more deeply felt than anywhere else I’ve been [in the Netherlands]. I mean, the Dutch are known for everyone being equal … it depends on the place you go to, but the professional skills part, there’s some things that you need to know the most basic [things like] how to present, how to dress when you’re presenting, how to write an email, how to, you know, probably don’t smoke in class, or something as stupid as that. Or, you know, figure out before you address someone or talk to them … who this person is beforehand. So you don’t address your boss’s boss, as you know, buddy, old chum.” That being said, some classes might be more relevant than others. “I had policy making, which was [a] really interesting [class], because I got to actually … learn the … fundamentals of how policy is made and now … that’s literally my job, being a policy maker.”

Although the SSMS courses (and his grades in them) were very important in shaping him and his career, Cimermanis felt as though his time at SSMS was much more than that: “No one is going to care about your grades the way you think they will … When I was hiring people, I didn’t care about grades. I cared about where they’d been and what they’d done.” 

To keep himself busy and create a more well-rounded profile, Cimermanis took on the role of Vice President at Centuria Study Association. “It helped me during my studies. It gave me something to do, and it sort of got me in a mood where I need to do stuff, need to work, I need to keep going, to do extra stuff. Because for me, I found that I was just bored out of my mind if I [only] did studies … I mean Centuria, the whole board, that thing was basically a project on steroids”  Rather than hyperfocusing on his studies, Cimermanis made sure he did well in his courses, as well as other aspects of life, “I mean, I was never the one [to think] I need to get a 10, because I never really care[d] … if I got a seven, perfect, let’s go .. you know, study is difficult, but I can manage it, and I still have time left over.”

Internship at NATO Joint Force Command Brunssum

After three years of balancing courses, Centuria, work, and life in general, it became time for Cimermanis to move away from campus and begin his internship. “I did my internship in NATO Joint Force Command Brunssum … I worked there in the office of the political advisor. So that was really fun work. I enjoyed it, working with geopolitics and so on, everything around the NATO area.” 

Upon being asked about his time at the NATO Joint Force Command Brunssum, Cimermanis noted the significant impact that the experience had on him, “The internship set me up for everything later down the line,” he said. However, to be in an internship which has such lasting effects, you may have to accept some hard truths about yourself: “I realized I was the dumbest person in the room – and that was a good thing.” While Cimermanis looked back on his internship fondly, he also recognized that it was a challenge, albeit a good one. “Take a tough internship. You have to be around a high caliber of people to get the most from it,” he said. 

While discussing his early working days as an intern, Cimermanis noted that everything changes once you take the step from school to work, stating, “When you go into the professional field, you’re on your own.” However, this knowledge became an asset and taught him that there was still so much he could learn and improve upon, “These people had discussed in three seconds what I had been writing down for three days,” he said while reflecting on the realization that he didn’t know as much as he might have thought. Cimermanis’s story serves as great advice for SSMS students who are trying to break into the industry. 

Career at the Ministry of Defense

However, his story did not stop there. After graduating, Cimermanis moved back to Latvia and began his career working in government. “Functionally, my day [consists of] meetings, desk work, and a lot of coordination. It’s never a one-stop shop – you’re constantly working with legal teams, finance teams, other policy teams, and the military.” Cimermanis’s role within the Ministry of Defense is rather dynamic, touching on specifics that he learned in the SSMS courses on policy, but it also involves management skills that he gained over time, especially after being promoted to team leader. “Policy making is not just about the issue – it’s about managing people around the issue … the most difficult part [of which] is managing upper management.”

In addition to managerial work, Cimermanis is also very hands-on when it comes to the actual policy making, stating that his day-to-day consists of answering questions like, “If the threat is X, then what capability do we need to counter it?” A question that is answered by reviewing the analysis conducted on a certain problem/situation and “…  balancing between what needs to be done and what is politically possible.” According to Cimermanis, a career in policy is less about analysis, but more deeply involved in actually making the important decisions, “You read the report, you assess it, and then you ask: what do I actually need to do with this? It’s about taking information and turning it into action … the tools [are already] in front of you – you [just] need to decide what to do with them.” 

Despite the work sounding rather technical and clinical, Cimermanis can see his efforts come to fruition in a very personal, touching way, “The biggest motivation is seeing that your work actually materializes into something real … When the soldiers come home and I see their kids hug them, and their families hug them, and they all made it home safe and alive – that gives some real meaning to the work.”

Return to Latvia

Although meaningful work can (and does) occur anywhere in the world, Cimermanis has found an additional aspect of meaning by returning to his home country. As a government employee, a certain level of loyalty and admiration for your country must be present. For Cimermanis, his loyalty to Latvia is felt deeply: “It’s my home at the end of the day.” According to Cimermanis, each country has a number of core values for which its population is willing to die. For Latvia, sovereignty is one of these things. “Latvia has less than two million people, and we have a country. For us, that’s really precious … There isn’t another place for Latvians out there.” This loyalty to his country has played a major role in his devotion to the job.

The level of devotion that Cimermanis possesses does not come from nowhere. His respect for the country can be seen in his early work as well, specifically in his Bachelor’s thesis. “My topic was Russia’s … strategic energy investments as a method of hybrid war. Basically, I tried to prove in my thesis that Russia … wanted to invade Ukraine way longer than they actually did, way before that they actually did. Why? Because they put all their gas pipelines around them, and oil pipelines, and everything that they built after the fall of the Soviet Union, they tried to push through the Baltic Sea, through the Black Sea, through Poland, through Belarus, something, something always around, and how, basically, Europe kind of became subservient through this hybrid tool of financial intervention, of political buyouts, of free, cheap energy.” Latvia and the rest of the Baltic countries have been feeling the pressure from Russia for years. When the invasion of Ukraine began, this pressure was exacerbated. Through his thesis topic, it can be seen that Cimermanis has always felt strongly regarding state sovereignty, especially from Russia. 

Even with this devotion to Latvia, Cimermanis still took the opportunity to live out of the country and explore new things. After graduating from SSMS and returning to Latvia, Cimermanis had the chance to spend some time in the United States working for a Think Tank in Washington, D.C.

Conclusion

Cimermanis simply started as a student in SSMS, but through commitment to his studies and involvement in extracurricular activities, he was able to rise through the ranks and become a successful working professional. His advice: “Be very adaptive, because we live in a time where nothing is set in stone … There is no silver bullet. Everyone is trying to figure things out as they go.” Cimermanis’ words ring true in times like these. Things are always changing; we are living through events that nobody could have predicted, events that have not been experienced by anyone alive until now. In times like these, Cimermanis’ advice is invaluable.