On 17 March 2023, SC 142 and NRCC 29 visited NATO HQ as the final stop on the Brussels leg of Field Study 1.
Admiral Rob Bauer, Chair of the NATO Military Committee, welcomed the NDC delegation and delivered a keynote speech in which he reflected on the current situation in Ukraine, and on NATO’s strategic vision. He stated that “so far, the war in Ukraine has shown us that we are on the right track with our strategies and planning. But we are actively accelerating their implementation. And we are doing so while keeping a close eye on the lessons we can identify, such as the requirement for hard power, for multi-domain operations and for scaling up the production capacity of our defence industries. The war in Ukraine is teaching us that you have to be able to fight yesterday’s battle… as well as tomorrow’s battle… today”.
Afterwards, Course Members were given the opportunity to hear from a panel of experts focused on “NATO’s Current Agenda: Defence and Deterrence of the Alliance post-Madrid Summit”. The panel was moderated by Dr Cynthia Salloum, NDC Faculty Research Advisor, and composed of Major General François-Marie Gougeon, Director, Policy and Capabilities Division, IMS; Lieutenant General Max A.L.T. Nielsen, Danish Military Representative to NATO (who will take over the position of NDC Commandant in July 2023); Lieutenant General Sir Ben Bathurst, UK Military Representative to NATO; and Ms Caroline Deaves, Defence Counsellor, UK Delegation to NATO.
Major General Gougeon addressed the main challenges facing NATO and NATO’s strategies to tackle those challenges. Then Lieutenant General Max A.L.T. Nielsen explained why NATO is important, particularly as seen from the Danish viewpoint; Ms Caroline Deaves gave an overview of the UK’s political approach and priorities regarding NATO; and Lieutenant General Sir Ben Bathurst talked about priorities, plans and strategies to strengthen defence and deterrence in the UK from a military perspective. The panel concluded with a Q&A session and closing remarks by an NRCC Course Member from Committee 1.
Later, NDC Course Members from NATO countries attended two classified briefings and discussions on “Aid to Ukraine and Assessment of Capability and Readiness” and on the “Roadmap for the Vilnius Summit”, followed by closing remarks from Senior Course 142 Course Members.
At the same time, NDC Course Members from Partner nations attended unclassified briefings and discussions on “NATO Cooperative Security and Military Cooperation”, “NATO’s Assessment of the Terrorist Threat and Instability”, followed by closing remarks from NRCC 29 Course Members.
In the afternoon, Course Members were able to meet with their national delegations, thereby concluding their visit to NATO HQ and the Field Study 1 programme for NRCC 29.
NDC Public Affairs Office
(Prepared by Ms Sofia Carvalheiro, PRT C)
NATO Defense College