HQ Supreme Allied Commander Transformation (SACT) appoints the NATO Counter Intelligence (CI) Centre of Excellence (COE) as the Department Head for Counterintelligence Education and Training.
The Military Committee approved the establishment of a Department Head (DH) for CI on February 7, 2023. Shortly thereafter on March 10, 2023, the Centre and SACT signed a formal Memorandum of Agreement and the NATO CI COE assumed the DH role for NATO CI. This means the Centre is responsible for coordinating education and training (E&T) solutions across the NATO enterprise to address validated CI training requirements.
“It is an excellent sign of trust and recognition of the Centre’s outstanding progress, and confirms that NATO sees the NATO CI COE as an organization making significant contributions to developing essential capabilities within the Alliance,” summed up the Centre’s director, Col. Mariusz Nogaj.
As the Department Head, the Centre will cooperate even more closely with NATO stakeholders in education and training. The NATO CI COE will be engaged with the Requirements Authority (RA), SHAPE ACOS J2, who identifies and maintains NATO education and training requirements for the entire Intelligence discipline that encompasses CI. The Centre must therefore coordinate with all NATO E&T solution providers to ensure these established training requirements are fulfilled. Meanwhile, Joint Force Development (JFD) within HQ SACT directs and coordinates interdisciplinary activities between the RAs and DHs from all disciplines.
Since its accreditation by the North Atlantic Council in 2017, the NATO CI COE has been developing educational offerings for the NATO and Allied Nation’s CI community. The Centre’s portfolio includes highly specialized in-residence training courses, conducted both in Poland and Slovakia, and also distance learning opportunities. In mid-2022, the Centre completed the SACT Quality Assurance (QA) accreditation process and earned recognition as a NATO-approved Education and Training Facility (ETF).
The NATO CI COE also supports SHAPE CI-oriented exercises with multiple staff experts, and conducts Mobile Education and Training Team (METT) events and seminars responsive to requests from NATO Nations. The Centre cooperates with academia; other NATO, national, and international COEs; and several NATO entities and organizations to develop innovative solutions to new challenges and opportunities facing NATO CI forces.