NATO Defense College 1982

Carabinieri at the entrance to the Coliege. The NATO Defense College NATO DEFENSE COLLEGE «UNITATEM ALENTES » «FOR UNITY WE STRIVE» HISTORY The NATO Defense College was established in Paris in 1951 on the basis of a proposal made by General Eisen hower, who foresaw the need for a new institution with a unique training mission. In a message to the Standing Group*, footnote requi red at end of page, General Eisenhower wrote: «.... There is a high priority requirement to develop indivi duals, both on the military and civilian side, who will ha ve a thorough grasp of the manylicated comp factors which are involved in the problem of creating an adequa te defence posture for the North Atlantic Treaty area. The venture upon which we are now embarked is so new to al lof us, and the problems which it raises are on such a different scale from those which have hitherto confron ted the member nations, that we are continually faced with a necessity for exploring new approaches and for broadening our points of view. This means that we must constantly be on the lookout for individuals who are ca pable of adapting themselves to this new environment and who find it possible in a reasonably short time to * The Standing Group was replaced in 1966 by the NATO Military Committee. 5 broaden their outlook and to grasp the essentials of this challenging problem sufficiently to shoulder the respon sibilities inherent in this new field. These considerations have brought me to the conclu sions that it is highly desirable to establish in the near future a NATO Defense College for the training of indivi duals who will be needed to serve in key capacities in NATO organizations». The North Atlantic Council quickly recognized the ur gent need to develop individuals who would meet this re quirement and approved General Eisenhower’s proposal. On 19th November 1951, the NATO Defense College, under its first Commandant, Admiral Lemonnier of the French Navy, opened its doors to the members of Course 1 in the «Artillerie» Wing of the Ecole Militaire. The NATO Defense College was to remain in Paris un til 1966 when France withdrew from the integrated milita ry structure of the Alliance. The College was then tran sferred to Rome where, in the suburb of EUR, it conti nues to fulfil the role which it has been assigned. MISS ION NATO Military Committee guidance calls for the Colle ge to conduct informative courses of study on military, political, economic, technological, geographical, socio logical and psychological factors and problems which affect or may affect the North Atlantic Treaty Organiza tion. The courses are attended by selected personnel who may in the future be required to perform important duties in or associated with NATO. 6 The firs t Course (19.11.1951 — 16.5.1952) was opened in the presence of General Dwight D. Eisenhower. On his right is Ad m iral A. Lemonnier, the first Commandant of the NATO Defense C ollege. The courses covere thfollowing range of subjects: a. the aims and policies of the Alliance,r ategicits st concept, organization and functions; b. the geographical, political and military characteri stics of member nations and current defence, techno logical and economic problems which affectO NAT policy and planning; c. developments outside the NATO area andeir im th pli cations for the Alliance; d. orientation in defence management; e. practice in the English and French languages. 7 ORGANIZATION OF THE COLLEGE The College is a NATO institution under the direction of the NATO Military Committee. It comprises Com mand, Faculty andS taff personnel, both military and ci vilian, appointed by their governmentsr sfor of touduty of about three years, a permanent staff of international civilian personnel selected from the member nations, and host nation administrative supportl .personne The College is commanded by an officer holding the rank of Lieutenant General or civilian equivalent selec ted from candidates proposed to the Military Committee by NATO member nations. The Commandant is assisted by three Deputy Commandants (two military and one civi lian) holding the rank of Major General, Brigadier Gene ral or equivalent. They are selected by the Commandant from candidates proposed by the member nations, sub ject to the Military Committee’s approval. The Comman dant appoints one of his Deputy Commandants as Direc tor of Studies, another as Director of Special Projects and External Relations, and the third (who is always from the host nation) as Director of Management. A Chef de Cabinet, who is a Colonel or equivalent, is responsible for supervising the work of the Commandant’s personal staff and the overall organization and smooth running of the College. The faculty is composed largely of military officers of the different services and civilian officials (normally ca reer diplomats) of the rank of Colonel or equivalent, ope rating under the supervision of the Director of Studies. Most of them are appointed as Faculty Advisers in char ge of committees and are responsible for guiding the work of the committees. A few are charged with plan ning, executive staff duties and research. 8 The international civilianrsonnel pe ensure the func tioning of the various supportervices of s the College (in terpretation, translation, documentation, library, budget and finance, personnel administration and general cleri cal support). The host nation support personnel are commanded by the Headquarters Commandant, an Italian army officer, and are responsible for most of the logistic services, transportation and the manning of the College Mess. The students (called members) are, of course, the «rai son d’etre» for the College. They are chosen by their go vernments for each course according to national quotas totalling about 60 members per course. They are either service officers holding the rank of Colonel, Lieutenant Colonel or occasionally Majors, or civilians of equivalent rank. Most of the civilian officials are diplomats from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs; however, other ministries, whose activities are related to the problems of the Allian ce, may also send representatives. Members are required to be fluent in English or French. THE COURSE The College seeks to accomplish its mission by orga nizing a course which will enable members to broaden their horizons and enhance their capacity for analysis. The approach is to examine firstly the basic concept of security and the major «power factors» that condition and define it. This concept is developed in the early stu dy periods so that in later periods it can be applied by the members themselves in their approach to the material presented to them. Thus the concept provides a useful 9 frame of reference for analyses carried out by the action- oriented military officers, diplomats and civil servants who make up the student body of the NATO Defense Col lege. At the same time it underlines the importance of theore tical analysis in the pratical decision-making process in which the members will be engaged when they leave the College. The very broad scope of subjects included in the curri culum reflects an awareness that national and interna tional security depend on an increasingly wide range of factors and variables, many of which were not included in earlier calculations of national power and national se curity. Therefore, while not neglecting the traditional measures of military strength and the role of the armed forces in securing national objectives, the course also examines in detail the economic, psychological and ideological elements of power and/orlnerability. vu Simi larly, Western security is increasingly affected by fac tors and events outside the geographical boundaries of the Alliance and the Warsaw Pact. In recognition of this, and within rather severe time constraints, the course examines major countries, regions, institutions and de velopments in the rest of the world, with particular em phasis on assessing the likely consequences and impli cations for the long term security of the Alliance. To illustrate: the Academic Programme for recent courses at the College has been divided into eight study periods, structured as follows: The first study period deals with international rela tions and NATO fundamentals. It includes a review of the historical events leading up to the present situation bet- 12 ween the West and the Warsaw Pact; it also acquaints members with the structure and workings of the Alliance as well as with the evolution of its security concept. The following three study periods deal with the power factors — military, economic, psychological and ideolo gical — which come into play in both NATO and Warsaw Pact strategy. These factors all influence defence, dome stic and foreign policy, and thereby have a considerable impact on international relations generally. The next two study periods cover, respectively, the USSR and Eastern Europe, and basic relationships with in the Alliance. The following study period deals with NATO and the Warsaw Pact, including the relations between the two blocs, arms control, and the impact of science and tech nology on security. The final study period concerns a much wider area' examining the developing power centres outsideO NAT and the Warsaw Pact, with particular emphasis on the implications of these power centres for the long term se curity of the Alliance. TEACHING METHODS The three basic methods selected to implement the academic programme have remained relatively constant since the College was founded. They are, namely, the daily lectures, committee work and instructional tours. In addition, morning English and French classes ensu re that members from different nations gain maximum 13 The NATO Defense oCllege in Rome (from 1967) advantage from the instruction given at the College and improve their ability to express themselves in the NATO languages.

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