News

In a significant step to gain a deeper understanding of the country’s strategic priorities and its pivotal role within NATO, the NATO Defense College (NDC) and its Commandant, Lieutenant General Max A.L.T. Nielsen, embarked on an insightful Field Study to Türkiye. This visit was meticulously designed to enhance the Course Members’ awareness of Türkiye’s national security strategy, NATO priorities and its influential stance on regional and global security dynamics.

The NATO Defense College (NDC) hosted the Anciens' Conference and Seminar from May 22 to 24, 2024, welcoming former Course Members who have attended the College since its founding. This event provided an opportunity for the Anciens to reconnect with their peers, as well as with faculty and staff from their time at the NDC.

• NDC Outlook 04-2024: The new NATO Force Model: ready for launch?, by John R. Deni *

From 20 to 22 May 2024, Senior Course 144 participated in the China Seminar, delving into China’s political, military, and economic ambitions, and reflecting on its policies and challenges.

From 13 May to 17 May, Senior Course 144 participants at the NATO Defense College delved into the intricacies of crisis management, through the intensive Negotiation, Mediation and Decision-Making Exercise (NMDX). During the exercise, Course Members assumed pivotal roles within NATO's senior committees, including the North Atlantic Council, the Political Committee, the Military Committee and the Operations Policy Committee. Placed at the epicentre of an unfolding international crisis, participants navigated complex geopolitical landscapes while responding to a fictional UN Security Council mandate for a NATO-led crisis response operation in a simulated non-NATO country.

• NDC Outlook 03-2024: Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee - How Allies adapt to drones, by LTC Brian R. Miletich*

From 7 to 9 May 2024, Senior Course 144 attended the Russia Seminar, a three-day study programme dedicated to Russia’s foreign policy, as well as the impact of its aggressive actions against Ukraine.

On 2 and 3 May, Senior Course 144 took part in Italian Days, a two-day tour in Rome during which Course Members attended briefings by high-level speakers from key Italian institutions such as the Italian Joint Operations Command (ITA JFHQ), the Secretariat General of Defence and National Armaments Directorate (SG/DNA), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of the Interior, and the House of Deputies. This Field Study provided Course Members with first-hand insights on Italy’s strategic concerns and priorities and how such issues align with NATO’s objectives.

Washington, DC (06.05.2024) – Coinciding with the 75th anniversary year of the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty, the NATO Conference of Commandants will this year be held for the first time in the United States. The NATO Defense College (NDC) and the National Defense University (NDU) will co-host the 53rd edition of this annual conference on the NDU campus at Fort McNair, in Washington DC, from 7 to 10 May 2024.

Senior Course 144 visited Berlin, Germany to gain firsthand insights into the nation's defence and security stance directly from the Ministry of Defense.
This was the fourth stop of Senior Course’s Field Study 2 programme, designed to deepen understanding of European Allies' defence perspectives through direct engagement with leading practitioners.