NATO Defense College

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NATO Defense College
Emblem of the NATO Defense College.svg
MottoUnitatem alentes
Established19 November 1951
Location,
Italy
Website ndc.nato.int
NATO Defense College

NATO Defense College (NDC) is the international military college for North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries. It is located in Rome, Italy.

Contents

History

General Dwight D. Eisenhower General Dwight D. Eisenhower.jpg
General Dwight D. Eisenhower

The idea of a NATO Defense College originated with General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the first Supreme Allied Commander Europe, who identified very early on the need for a new international institution with a unique education mission. On 19 November 1951, the NATO Defense College opened its doors to Course 1 in Paris. In 1966, France withdrew from the Alliance's integrated military structure and the College moved to the EUR quartier of Rome.

On 10 September 1999, the new College building, twice the size of the old one, was inaugurated in Cecchignola Città Militare, a military zone 2 km from the former site. On 13–14 October 2016, the NATO Defense College celebrated the 50th anniversary of its move to Rome and the 65th anniversary of its foundation.

Mission

Based on Strategic Guidance issued to the NDC by the North Atlantic Council and the NATO Military Committee (MC123/8), the NDC's stated mission is to:

There is a high priority requirement to develop individuals, both on the military and on the civilian side, who will have a thorough grasp of the many complicated factors which are involved in the problem of creating an adequate defense posture for the North Atlantic Treaty area. These considerations have brought me to the conclusion that it is highly desirable to establish in the near future a NATO Defense College for the training of individuals who will be needed to serve in key capacities in NATO Organizations.

General Dwight D. Eisenhower

Organization

The commandant is an officer with the rank of Lieutenant-General. In July 2023, Lieutenant-General Max Arthur Lund Thorsø Nielsen of the Royal Danish Air Force assumed command.

The college is organized into four main divisions that perform education and research tasks coordinated by the dean (civilian equivalent of a 2-star general) of the college.

The divisions work closely together to provide breadth, flexibility and quality of high-level strategic education.

The Director of Enablement (a Brigadier General) supervises management of the NDC's financial and technical resources with the aim of improving the quality of life in the college and creating the best conditions for work and study.

Core business

Education

Six regular courses are held at the college:

Research

Research at the NATO Defense College, carried out by the Research Division (RD), provides the NATO's senior leaders with analyses and recommendations on current issues concerning the Alliance. The activities of the RD can help to convey NATO's positions to the wider audience of the international strategic community. The RD performs its tasks mainly through research papers – short academic essays and academic reports, and forum papers – in-depth studies, analyses and reports.

Over the last year,[ when? ] the Research Division published about 20 studies and analyses, about 30 articles in journals (International Herald Tribune, International Affairs, Defense News, Politique Étrangère, Washington Times, etc.), was regularly quoted in the New York Times, Newsweek, Le Figaro and news agencies, etc. The RD also organized 8 conferences and workshops and co-facilitated Reykjavik Conferences on Arctic Security and a Military Committee workshop on the Strategic Concept.

Outreach activities

The NDC has four main outreach activities:

The Conference of Commandants (of Defence Colleges)

Which has a dual purpose.

  • firstly, to facilitate the exchange of information between those responsible for higher defence education with a view to improving curricula and teaching methods;
  • secondly, to promote cooperation in higher defence education between colleges in NATO countries and their counterparts in central and east European and Mediterranean Dialogue countries.

Kyiv Week

NATO's support for senior military education in Ukraine started with the first "International Week", held in February 2001. Since then a similar course has been running every year involving more than 500 participants at a time. The formal aims of the International Week are:

  • to improve knowledge of NATO, its organization and working methods;
  • to discuss the challenges facing the Atlantic Alliance and its partners in today's security environment;
  • to address key, current issues in the field of international security;
  • to demonstrate the importance of a strong partnership between Ukraine and NATO.

The Partnership for Peace Consortium of Defense Academies and Security Studies Institutes

Was established in 1999 at the Washington Summit as a Consortium of the Willing and founded in the spirit of Partnership for Peace (PfP). By Military Committee direction, the NATO Defense College "is the focal military point of contact within NATO" for the consortium, composed of 300 organizations in 46 countries. The NDC is actively involved in 6 of the 10 working groups.

Advanced Distributed Learning

ADL's goal is to provide learning systems that are both more effective and more cost-effective. Course members must follow at least one of the three different ADL courses, to ensure that they have all attained the same level of knowledge before embarking on the Senior Course.

The Introduction to NATO (the NATO Defense College is the content provider for this course); European Security and Defence Policy, and RMA - the Revolution in Military Affairs.

Commandants

Current commandant, Max Nielsen [de] General Max Nielsen of Denmark at the 53rd NATO Conference of Commandants held at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C. on May 10, 2024 - 2 (cropped).jpg
Current commandant, Max Nielsen  [ de ]

The NATO Defense College commandants have been: [1]

See also

References

  1. "NDC - Organization". www.ndc.nato.int.

41°48′25″N12°29′28″E / 41.807°N 12.491°E / 41.807; 12.491