27 January 2010 Mobile Education and Training Team (METT), Lille, France From 18 until 22 January, a Mobile Education and Training Team (METT) under the direction of Squadron Leader Lawrence Brunt, GBR-AF, conducted the ISAF HQ Individual Augmentee Pre-Deployment Course in Lille, France. In total, 300 staff members from the Rapid Reaction Corps were presented lectures which provided a common understanding of Afghanistan and ISAF mission related issues.
21 January 2010 NATO's Partnerships Symposium Mr. Robert F. Simmons Jr., Acting Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs and Security Policy, NATO International Staff, chaired “NATO's Partnerships – The Oberammergau Symposium”, which was held from 20 - 21 January 2010 at the NATO School. The Commandant of the NATO School, Colonel Mark D. Baines, USA-A, welcomed over 220 high level participants from 61 nations. Amongst the participants were visitors from Afghanistan, Armenia, Australia, Japan, Mauritania, Kazakhstan, and the Republic of Korea, to name just a few. In addition, several international organizations such as the European Union, International Maritime Organisation (IMO), International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) also participated in the Symposium. <more>
14 January 2010 NATO's Defence Planning Symposium From 11 until 14 January 2010 the NATO Defence Planning Symposium chaired by Ambassador Jiři Šedivý, Assistant Secretary General for Defence Policy and Planning, HQ NATO, was held at the NATO School, Oberammergau, Germany. The Commandant of the NATO School, Colonel Mark D. Baines, USA-A, welcomed over 200 high level participants from 33 NATO and partner nations. Taking part in the Symposium for the first time were the countries of Albania, Croatia and Malta.
During this flagship event for NATO, key note speakers such as Sir StewartEldon KCMG OBE, United Kingdom Permanent Representative to NATO; Mr. Peter Göthe, Sweden’s Deputy Director General for International and Security Affairs; Mr. Kristian Fischer, Denmark’s Deputy Permanent Secretary of State for Defence and Mr. Jim Townsend, United States Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for European and NATO Policy, addressed the distinguished international audience on issues linked to the topic of the Symposium: “Delivering Capabilities for Current and Future Operations”. The presentations were followed by numerous discussion forums which contributed substantively to the preparation of upcoming events in Istanbul and Brussels and the NATO Summit in Lisbon later this year. <Opening remarks by Ambassador Jiři Šedivý> <Closing remarks by Ambassador Jiři Šedivý>
18 December 2009 Lieutenant General Karlheinz Viereck Visits NATO School On 18 December Lieutenant General Viereck, DEU AF, Deputy Chief of Staff Allied Command Transformation (ACT), Joint Force Training, visited the NATO School. He was welcomed by the Commandant of the NATO School Colonel Mark D. Baines, USA A, and the Deputy Commandant Colonel (GS) Enrico Werner, DEU AF, in the snow covered area of Oberammergau. The main focus of Lieutenant General Viereck’s visit was a meeting with the Academic Staff to ensure that student requirements were met with mission focused training.
16 December 2009 Major General Layfield visits NATO School On 15 December Major General Stephen Layfield, USA A, Commander of USJFCOM’s Joint Warfighting Center and Director of the Training Directorate, visited the NATO School. After an office call with the Commandant, Colonel Mark D. Baines USA A, he was given an Academic program overview by the Academic staff. In the afternoon, MG Layfield met with the USA contingent where he got to know the individual service members.
16 December 2009 Bulgarian Minister of Defence Visits NATO School On 3 December 09, the Bulgarian Minister of Defence H.E. Nickolay Mladenov accompanied by General Consul Atanas Krastin visited the NATO School. The two honoured guests were presented an official NATO School briefing by the Commandant, Colonel Mark D. Baines, USA A followed by a tour of the facilities.
7 December 2009 NATO School Mobile Education and Training Team - Yerevan Armenia From 02 until 09 December, a Mobile Education and Training Team (METT) under the direction of Colonel Tomislav Vibovec, HRV-A, conducted the NATO Academic Instructor Course in Yerevan, Armenia. A total of 23 students mainly from the Military Institute Vazgen Sargsyan received lectures enabling them to effectively apply the instructional development processes, teaching methods and presentation techniques in designing and delivering instructional systems.
7 December 2009 NATO School Mobile Education Training Team - Madrid, Spain From 27 November until 4 December, a Mobile Education and Training Team (METT) under the direction of LTC Alain Weiss, FRA-A, conducted the NATO CIMIC Staff course in Madrid, Spain. A total of 33 students from Component Command Land - Madrid received lectures during the course as well as engaging in syndicate work. With the combination of excellent students and superb supporting staff, the course was a great success for all involved.
7 December 2009 NATO School Mobile Education and Training Team - Compiegne, France From 23 until 27 November, a Mobile Education and Training Team (METT) under the direction of Major Ozcetin, TUR-AF, conducted the NATO Staff Officer Orientation / Crisis Management Course in Compiegne, France. A total of 92 students from the French Staff College received lectures providing them with a foundation of knowledge on NATO. These included structure, policies and operations as well as current issues affecting the Alliance.
7 December 2009 Advanced Distributed Working Group The Advanced Distributed Learning Working Group (ADL WG) met from 17 – 19 November 2009 at NATO School Oberammergau for the second annual meeting of the PfP Consortium ADL WG. The event also marked the 10th Anniversary of the PfP Consortium's ADL WG. When the group was funded 10 years ago, ADL was a new and modern tool to support classroom training. Today ADL courses are an important part of the classroom training which offers students solid information on a variety of NATO and PfP topics. <more>
16 October 2009 NATO School Commandant Chaired the 10th Annual PfP Training and Education Centres Commandants' Conference NATO School Commandant, Colonel Mark Baines, USA-A, chaired the 10th Annual PfP Training and Education Centres Commandants’ Conference, hosted by the Austrian Centre for Operations Preparation, in Baden, from 5-8 October 2009. This event brought together 43 participants from 14 Partnership for Peace (PfP) Training and Education Centres, both Strategic Commands, NATO Headquarters and observers from Georgia, Kazakhstan, and Moldova. In his opening remarks, Colonel Baines stated, “I believe this conference should have two objectives: one soft and one hard. <more>
11 September 2009 Estonian Award Presented to NATO School Member On the 11th of September 2009 the Senior National Representative from Estonia, Chief Master Sergeant Janis Kivilo, presented a medal that was awarded by the Commander of the Estonian Defense Forces, Lieutenant General Ants Laaneots to NATO School Deputy Dean of Academics - Commander Ulrich Schöne. Commander Schöne was awarded the Estonian Defense Forces Meritorius Service Cross No. 356 for outstanding service in support of Estonian soldiers' training at the NATO School. Commander Schöne mentioned that “receiving this award came as an enormous surprise and it was a personal honor to be recognized for such an esteemed national award.”
1 July 2009 NATO School Mobile Education and Training Team
- Balard Airbase, France NATO School conducted a Mobile Education and Training Event at Balard Airbase in Paris, France from 22 - 25 June, 2009. The NATO Staff Officer and NCO Orientation Courses were conducted during this period educating 126 Officers and 96 Non-Commissioned Officers. Having recently integrated into the NATO command structure, all French armed forces members in these courses will fill NATO positions this summer. The French Ministry of Defense assessed this event to be a great success.
10 June 2009 NATO School Change of Command Ceremony On Wednesday the 10th of June 2009 Colonel Mark D. Baines, USA A, took over the responsibilities as the Commandant of the NATO School from Colonel James J. Tabak, USA MC. The Change of Command Ceremony was conducted by the Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, General James N. Mattis, USA MC. After three years of commanding the faculty and staff representing 25 different NATO and Partnership for Peace nations, Colonel Tabak relinquished his Command.<more><photos>
NATO School Commandant, Colonel Mark Baines, USA-A, chaired the 10th Annual PfP Training and Education Centres Commandants’ Conference, hosted by the Austrian Centre for Operations Preparation, in Baden, from 5-8 October 2009. This event brought together 43 participants from 14 Partnership for Peace (PfP) Training and Education Centres, both Strategic Commands, NATO Headquarters and observers from Georgia, Kazakhstan, and Moldova. In his opening remarks, Colonel Baines stated, “I believe this conference should have two objectives: one soft and one hard. <
