zachary harden
Keywords: nato | otan | coe | international organization | act |
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Last modified: 2023-09-30 by zachary harden
Keywords: nato | otan | coe | international organization | act |
Links: FOTW homepage |
search |
disclaimer and copyright |
write us |
mirrors
![[Flag of NATO]](../images/n/nato.gif)
by Željko Heimer
See also:
A NATO Centre of Excellence (COE) is a nationally or multinationally
sponsored entity, which offers recognised expertise and experience to the
benefit of the Alliance, especially in support of transformation. It provides
opportunities to enhance education and training, to improve interoperability and
capabilities, to assist in doctrine development and/or to test and validate
concepts through experimentation.
In order to promote transformation within the NATO Alliance, member nations have
agreed to take advantage of national and multinational Centres of Excellence (CoEs).
The CoEs are open for participation by all NATO member states, they are
nationally or multi-nationally managed and funded, and they can be offered to
NATO.
CoEs provide opportunities for NATO and PfP nations to improve interoperability
and capabilities, to test and develop doctrine, and validate concepts through
experimentation.
COEs trace their roots back to the reorganization of NATO's military command
structure following the Prague Summit in 2002. After the summit, Atlantic
Command Transformation (ACT) became responsible for transforming the Alliance
into a leaner, more efficient organization.
Specifically, ACT ensures that the Alliance is able face future challenges by
enhancing training, conducting experiments to test new concepts and promoting
interoperability within the Alliance. In line with this goal, ACT has used its
links with educational institutions to direct the transformation of the military
structure, forces, capabilities and doctrine of the Alliance.
COEs are not part of the NATO command structure. Instead, they are educational
facilities in the Euro-Atlantic area recognized by the Alliance for their
high-quality training. ACT coordinates the relationship between these
educational facilities and ACO.
Up to date, there are 18 NATO Centres of Excellence.
- Center for Analysis & Simulation for the Preparation of Air Operations Centre
of Excellence (CASPOA) COE in Taverny Air Base, France;
- Civil - Military Cooperation Centre of Excellence (CIMIC) COE in Enschede, The
Netherlands;
- Cold Weather Operations Centre of Excellence (CWO) COE in Bodo, Norway;
- Combined Joint Operations from the Sea Centre of Excellence (CJOS) COE in
Norfolk, Virginia, United States;
- Command & Control Centre of Excellence (C2) COE in Utrecht, The Netherlands;
- Confined and Shallow Waters Centre of Excellence (CSW) COE in Kiel, Germany;
- Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCD) COE in Tallinn, Estonia
- Counter Improvised Explosive Devices Centre of Excellence (C-IED) COE in
Madrid, Spain;
- Defense Against Terrorism Centre of Excellence (DAT) COE in Ankara, Turkey;
- Explosive Ordanance Disposal (EOD) COE in Trencín, Slovakia;
- Human Intelligence Centre of Excellence (HUMINT) COE in Oradea, Romania;
- Joint Air Power Competence Center (JAPCC) COE in Kalkar, Germany;
- Joint Chemical, Biological, Radiation, & Nuclear Defence Centre of Excellence
(JCBRN Defence) COE in Vyskov, Czech Republic;
- Military Engineering Centre of Excellence (MILENG) COE in Ingolstadt, Germany;
- Military Medical Centre of Excellence (MED) COE in Budapest, Hungary;
- Modelling and Simulation (M&S) COE in Rome, Italy;
- Mountain Warfare (MW) COE in Ljubljana, Slovenia;
- Naval Mine Warfare Centre of Excellence (EGUERMIN) COE in Oostende, Belgium.
- NATO Stability Policing (SP) COE in Vicenza, Italy.
Most of them have own organizational flag.
Zoltan Horvath, 24 February 2011
