The Military Engineering Centre of Excellence is an international military organization manned and funded by contributions from sponsoring NATO nations with Germany as its host nation. Created in 2006, the Centre has a current strength of 35 staff members from 17 nations, which makes Military Engineering the second biggest Centre of Excellence in relation to sponsoring nations.
As the NATO Department Head for Military Engineering’s Training and Education, its mission is to professionally advance NATO and its partners on military engineering in efforts to produce subject matter expertise. Subject matter experts can assist commanders in providing assessment of the Centre’s capabilities. Military Engineering is confident that the well-trained subject matter experts will deliver the high level quality of the Centre’s outputs.
The Centre’s Training and Education department delivers a schedule of NATO approved military engineering courses from strategic to tactical level for NATO nations. Military Engineering’s core tasks include the Information Knowledge Management, which implements the dissemination of advanced engineering topics from its library of collected knowledge. The Centre also supports NATO schools with NATO themed courses upon request and within capability and capacity.
Military Engineering is a huge asset in promoting the value of networking in order to enhance and maintain relationships within the Alliance and the Centre’s Community of Interest. The Centre is committed to building and sustaining a network of partners, experts, and stakeholders in military engineering in support of the Alliance’s strategic objectives.
The Centre’s mission also contributes to the development of policies, concepts and doctrine to enhance and incorporate effective interoperability of military engineering capabilities into NATO operations and exercises. Military Engineering has participated in the Multi-Domain Operations in Urban Environment Concept with representation by its Policy, Concepts and Doctrine Branch during war gaming.
Military Engineering is a world class organization that is increasingly recognized as a vital facet of tactical, operational, and strategic planning within various aspects of operations. It is the key behind the continued education and training for advanced military engineering. The connection and integration of the Centre and NATO-related topics have seen a significant improvement over recent years and continues to increasingly improve in staff processes.
The Military Engineering Centre of Excellence crest shows a bridge, which is the international military map symbol for military engineers. NATO Headquarters continues its efforts in improving the connection between the civil-military aspects of Military Engineering to the political-military level in order to provide the foundation for better integration. More than two decades of expeditionary operations have seen a steady expansion and widening of the scope of engineers in operations, staff roles, and the NATO Command Structure at all levels.
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.
