Yesterday morning, Thursday 20 February, the inauguration ceremony of the two main courses of NATO Defense College, the Senior Course 136 (SC136) and the NATO Regional Cooperation Course 23 (NRCC23).
The celebrations were opened by the commander of the NATO Defense College, the Canadian air squad general Chris Whitecross, together with this edition's guest of honor, the air chief marshall Sir Stuart Peach (opening photo). Also present at the event was General Roberto Nordio together with the entire delegation of the NATO Military Committee, visiting the NDC as the second stage of a trip to the NATO commands in Italy.
NATO Defense College's Raison d'être, the Senior Course it is the main activity in terms of duration and training importance. It takes place twice a year for five and a half months and is aimed at the academic preparation of senior officers and civil servants of equivalent rank, coming from Alliance member states and partner countries. Today at its 136th session, it brings together participants from thirty one different countries, welcoming seventy-one students for this semester.
Il NATO Regional Cooperation Course (NRCC), inaugurated in 2009 and of shorter duration than Senior Course, is divided into ten weeks on a six-monthly basis, with the aim of addressing relevant issues in the Middle East region, with a focus on military, strategic and security policies. Thirty-two participants, from seventeen countries. The added value of this course is to be able to analyze these issues from the particular perspective of the partner countries of the Mediterranean Dialogue, of the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative and of course of the other NATO countries.
NATO Defense College (NDC) is NATO's training, refresher and research center of excellence on key strategic issues related to transatlantic security. Founded in Paris in 1951, at the behest of General Eisenhower two years after the signing of the Atlantic pact, it represents NATO's main high-education vehicle, responsible for more than sixty years for the preparation of civil and military leaders, not only from countries members of the Alliance, but also from those partners, in particular from North Africa and the Middle East.
Photo: Online Defense / NDC
