On Thursday 10 April 2014, a delegation from the Royal Jordanian National Defence College visited the NATO Defense College. The delegation was led by BrigGen Rezeg Oqleh Mefleh Alshurman.
The aim of the visit was to provide the group with an overview of the mission and activities of the College.
Upon arrival, the Jordanian delegation was warmly welcomed by the Dean of the NDC Dr Daria Daniels Skodnik (SVN C), MajGen Mohammed Awwad (JOR A), NDC Middle East expert, and Col Giuseppe Morabito (ITA A), Head of the NDC Middle East Faculty (MEF).
The visit continued with a briefing by the Head of the MEF, who described the structure of the College and its academic activities. He illustrated the objectives and main features of the NDC courses, focusing in particular on the NATO Regional Cooperation Course (NRCC) and the Senior Executive Regional Conference (SERC). To date, MEF Courses have been attended by 33 Course Members from the Kingdom of Jordan – including two who have participated in the recently launched SERC.
Continuing its visit, the delegation attended Senior Course 124’s lecture of the day. This was an interesting talk by Professor Julian Lindley-French (GBR C), entitled “NATO Forces 2020: Smart Defence and the Connected Forces Initiative”.
Afterwards, the Jordanian delegation joined NRCC-11 for a second lecture, by BrigGen Luigi Scollo (ITA A), describing current conditions in Libya. The speaker gave a comprehensive and well documented presentation on the complex problems which beset the country, three years on from the events of 2011.
The visit of Brig Gen Rezeg Oqleh Mefleh Alshurman and this high-level delegation from the Royal Jordanian National Defence College was an excellent opportunity for the visitors to better understand the NDC’s role as NATO’s premier academic institution.
Julian Lindley-French is a leading strategic analyst, author and commentator with several books to his name. He is Senior Fellow at the Institute of Statecraft, Director of Europa Analytica, Distinguished Visiting Research Fellow at the National Defense University, Washington DC, Honorary Fellow of the Strategy and Security Institute at the University of Exeter and a Member of the Strategic Advisory Panel of the UK Chief of Defence Staff.
Brig Gen Scollo was commissioned into the Bersaglieri from the Military Academy and received his BSc in Strategic Studies from the University of Turin and a Master’s in Strategic studies from the same university in 2004. He also holds a BSc in International Affairs from Trieste University. BG Scollo’s past staff assignments include: Defence Expert EU Delegation, Tripoli, Libya 2012-2013; DCOS OPS ITA Army LAND FORCES HQ, Verona 2011-2012, Chief CJ3 ISAF Joint Command in Afghanistan, 2009-2011; DCOS Training and Doctrine; NATO Rapid Deployable Corps – Italy. He is currently serving as DCOS CSS in the NATO Rapid Deployable Corps HQ in Milan.
The Royal Jordanian National Defence College superseded the Royal Jordanian War College, inaugurated in 1986 by His Majesty the late King Hussein Bin Talal. In 2003, His Majesty King Abdullah II, the Supreme Commander of the Jordanian Armed Forces, issued directives for the transformation of the Royal Jordanian War College into the Royal Jordanian National Defence College, tasked with training future military and civilian leaders to deal with the rapidly evolving security and defence challenges of the contemporary world.
NDC Public Affairs Office
(Prepared by Ms Monica Fornari, ITA C)
NATO Defense College