Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone made his first official visit to the NATO Defense College (NDC) as Chair of the NATO Military Committee on 4 and 5 December 2025. Chairing the 55th Academic Advisory Board, Admiral Cavo Dragone took a moment to discuss the vital role the College plays in shaping NATO’s future. In this interview, he explores how strategic education contributes to the Alliance’s readiness and cohesion.
Why is strategic education critical to NATO’s mission?
Since its founding, NATO has recognized that education is not just another activity, that it sits at the heart of the Alliance’s collective strength and shared purpose. Over the years, NATO’s education and training efforts and initiatives have expanded, both geographically and institutionally, and have evolved to meet the needs of a dynamic and increasingly complex security environment. The spearhead of this commitment is the NDC, as the Alliance’s premier academic institution, fostering strategic thinking and forward-looking research, and cultivating the bonds that underpin NATO’s unity.
Strategic education is critical to NATO’s mission because it strengthens the foundation of what we call “the collective”. By embedding shared values, mutual understanding and trust among Allies, education ensures that NATO leaders are prepared to handle the most pressing challenges and can work seamlessly as one in times of crisis. Having had experience of training and education at different levels during my career, I can attest that these efforts foster the strategic foresight, cohesion and clarity needed to deliver timely and effective military advice. It is through education that NATO consolidates its common vision and prepares leaders to act decisively and collaboratively, ensuring the Alliance remains resilient and adaptable in an ever-changing world.
As the Chair of the NATO Military Committee, what in your view are the main skills required from the Alliance’s next generation of leaders?
I believe that leadership is not innate, that it can be learned and trained. In this sense, true leaders will have themselves been “good” followers in the past, and shown an ability to identify good leadership and improve their own skills over time. Looking ahead, the Alliance needs leaders who can maintain a “bird’s eye” view, connecting strategic objectives with tactical actions, with calculated consequences; leaders who will not be afraid of taking hard decisions under strong pressure, even without much information. The next generation of leaders will have to cultivate the collective. This means uniting Allies with different approaches, cultures and histories, while promoting a burden-sharing mindset and the readiness to sacrifice for the common good. Only leaders who are able to build a shared vision will manage to address our common and future challenges. And to that end, leaders have to truly believe in the values and principles they fight for. Leadership can be laden with responsibility, solitude and risk. But it is also the highest service one can give – not to oneself, but to others.
As President of the NDC’s Academic Advisory Board (AAB), which specific element of the NDC’s curriculum or teaching methodology do you regard as meriting further strengthening at this point in time, in order to ensure our future leaders are adequately equipped for the evolving security and technological landscape?
I can certainly say that we’re living in a time where the pace of change – technological and security-related – is overwhelming. The next generation of leaders needs to be prepared not just to keep up with new scenarios – in a reactive way – but also to anticipate and stay ahead of the curve. I believe one of the greatest opportunities for strengthening this academic path lies in how we integrate cutting-edge technologies, such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing and autonomous systems, in the way we teach.
It is not just about learning how these tools work; it is about preparing leaders to make fast, complex decisions in high-pressure situations, while also grappling with the ethical questions surrounding these advancements. It is critical that we embed this technological focus directly into our leadership training, thus connecting innovation with decision-making, strategy and values.
And at the heart of it all, we cannot forget the human element. Technology is powerful, but it must remain a tool that serves our objectives – it should never replace them. I would like to see our curriculum take an even stronger stance on that connection, blending technical expertise with the kind of “people first” leadership that will ensure our future leaders don’t just adapt to change, but shape it in ways that benefit us all.
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