NATO School
| Motto | Knowledge enables capabilities |
|---|---|
| Established | 1953 |
|
Officer in charge
|
Capt. W. Scott Butler, USN |
| Dean | Col. Timothy Dreifke, USAF |
|
Administrative staff
|
200 |
| Students | 12,000/year |
| Location |
Oberammergau, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany 47°36′N 11°5′E / 47.600°N 11.083°ECoordinates: 47°36′N 11°5′E / 47.600°N 11.083°E |
| Campus | Hötzendorf Casern |
| Website | www |
The NATO School Oberammergau in southern Germany is NATO's key training facility on the operational level. The School started with two courses in 1953 and now offers over 100 different courses to Alliance members and partners on subjects related to NATO's policies, strategies, missions and operations.
The NATO School Oberammergau conducts multinational military education and individual training in support NATO operations. This includes cooperation, dialogue, and information exchange, including education and training, with military and civilian personnel from non-NATO nations.
Since 1953, more than 200,000 officers, non-commissioned officers and civilians have attended courses at the School. Annually, about 12,000 students and conference attendees visit the School.
The NATO School Oberammergau provides courses of instruction in eight main disciplines, mostly one week in duration, in the fields of:
Primarily focused on individual education, NATO School Oberammergau also supports many aspects of collective training, exercises, experimentation and operations. Education and training is centred on combined and operational art while offering Mobile Education and Training Teams (METT), web based Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) and of course resident courses and seminars. Moreover, the School has become a destination for many defence and security related conferences.
In October 1937, the 54th Mountain Signal Battalion moved into the Hötzendorf Barracks. From August 1943 the Messerschmitt research and design bureau operated on to the site, under the cover name of "Upper Bavarian Research Institute". In an underground factory the Institute produced the first serially usable military twin jet aircraft such as the Messerschmitt-262 and worked on variable-geometry "Project 1101", the Enzian surface-to-air missile and other aircraft weapons systems.
Between 1970 and 1990 the school expanded its curriculum from 6 to 23 courses as NATO recognised the value of standardised education for members of the Alliance. The Orientation Department provided training for staff officers newly assigned to NATO HQs.
A Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Department (NBC) gave instruction on the defence against NBC weapons and an Electronic Warfare Department trained students on defensive electronic warfare.
While over the last decades the curriculum focussed on courses reflecting the military circumstances of the Cold War, in the mid-90s new conflicts in the Balkans led to new courses enabling NATO forces securing the peace across the region.
The situation across the Balkans illustrated and raised awareness, for the numerous parties on the battlefield such as militias, civilians, United Nations agencies as many governmental and non-governmental organisations.
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Wikipedia