The Command and Control Centre of Excellence is a vital source of multinational integration for the Alliance by bringing together Allies and Partners as a force multiplier, emphasizing and growing command and control mechanisms while also contributing to the Allied Command Transformation’s mission of strengthening Multi-Domain Operations.
Located in Utrecht, The Netherlands, the Command and Control Centre of Excellence is a vital and unique component of Allied Command Transformation. The Centre is the only Alliance-related organization that focuses exclusively on overarching joint functions of Command and Control, orchestrating the Alliance’s international co-operational capabilities through persistent research, experimentation, and analysis. Given the Alliance’s emphasis on Multi-Domain Operations, the Centre’s expertise in the innovation of command structures directly aligns with Allied Command Transformation objectives. The Centre is at the forefront of fostering integration and cohesiveness among Alliance command structures, innovating methods to improve command and control as well as serving as knowledge brokers between the civilian and military spheres on methods of building enhanced interoperability.
In improving current command and control functions of the Alliance, the Centre leverages its subject matter expertise in auditing current protocols and exercises to provide insight on improvements to process and operability. The Centre has continuously provided support to the STEADFAST-series and JACKAL-series exercises, stationing subject matter experts throughout the command ecosystem to assist training audiences. These functions supplement in-house seminars on a range of Command and Control topics, including recent seminar themes on Executing Command and Control in a Multi-Domain Environment. This challenges participants on the theory and arguments surrounding Multi-Domain Operations and Multi-Domain Command and Control by exposing participants to the latest insights of command and control experts.
The Centre is also a leader in integrating emerging technologies and theories for concept development of the future. In 2020, the Centre began work on an integrated command and control platform, called the Multi-Domain Command and Control Demonstrator, as part of the research series The Future of the Command Post. This project is ongoing, and hopes to be a part of a larger effort to integrate innovative technological systems within the overall command and control structure of the alliance. By revitalising and enabling commanders’ ability to understand the multi-domain operating environment of the modern world, these efforts seek to address the Allied Command Transformation’s emphasis on Cross-Domain Command capabilities.
In addition to the development of concepts and training of personnel, the Centre maintains an active outreach role through its recurring podcast series. These podcasts host an array of guests who are specialists in command and control doctrine and provides a platform for the Centre to promote its innovations while also demonstrating the depth of innovation the Alliance is pursuing on the command and control front. The most recent episode interviews retired General Sir James Everard, who discusses the NATO Senior Mentor Programme. This Programme allows for former Flag or General officers to support NATO commanders as they train and prepare for operations. In doing so, these Mentors ensure the lessons learned from their careers are integrated in current and future commands. A new series of podcasts, solely focussed on the Senior Mentor Programme is now in production and will be published later this year.
The Command and Control Centre of Excellence exemplifies the Allied Command Transformation’s mission of pushing the boundaries of existing capabilities and exploring greater integration among those capabilities across Multi-Domain Operations. By combining the lessons learned from real world command and control experience with the Centre’s attention to Command and Control processes, the Centre will continue to push forward the Alliance’s ability streamline its control over burgeoning multi-domain operations capabilities.
More information: c2coe.org, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.
NATO-accredited Centres of Excellence are (multi-) nationally established and sponsored entities, which offer recognized expertise and experience within a defined subject matter area to the benefit of the Alliance. Centres of Excellence are not part of the NATO Command Structure, but form part of the wider framework that contributes to the functioning of the Alliance. Headquarters Supreme Allied Commander Transformation coordinates the activities of the Centres of Excellence, ensuring that their outputs align with Allied Command Transformation’s Programme of Work. For more information about NATO-accredited Centres of Excellence, see the 2023 Centres of Excellence Catalogue.
