NATO School is NATO's primary training and education centre on the operational level, the only one of its kind in the world. The school started with two courses in 1953 and now offers over 90 different courses to Alliance members and partners on subjects related to NATO's policies, strategies, missions and operations.

Overview

The mission of NATO School is to conduct courses, training and seminars in support of NATO's current and developing strategy and policy. This includes cooperation, dialogue, and information exchange, including education and training, with military and civilian personnel from non-NATO nations.

Allied Command Transformation (ACT) provides guidance for NATO School’s curriculum. A Board of Advisors consisting of members of ACT and Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe

Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe

Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe is the central command of NATO military forces. It is located at Casteau, north of the Belgian city of Mons...

 (SHAPE) staff provides assistance and guidance to the school. Germany and the United States contribute facilities and logistics support, while contributions from various NATO agencies and tuition fees cover the remaining operating expenses for the school.

Since 1953, more than 162,000 officers, non-commissioned officers (NCOs) and civilians from all allied and national military commands within the NATO alliance have attended courses at the school. In addition, students attend from:

• the alliance’s Partnership for Peace programme
  Partnership for Peace
  Partnership for Peace is a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation program aimed at creating trust between NATO and other states in Europe and the former Soviet Union; 22 States are members...
  
  ,
• nations composing the Mediterranean Dialogue
  Mediterranean Dialogue
  The Mediterranean Dialogue, first launched in 1994, is a forum of cooperation between NATO and seven countries of the Mediterranean. Its stated aim is "to create good relations and better mutual understanding and confidence throughout the region, promoting regional security and stability and...
  
  ,
• nations composing the Istanbul Conference Initiative,
• nations from the group of Contact Countries, and
• nations within the Membership Action Plan.

NATO School provides training and education on a myriad of subjects including: basic NATO orientation, multinational forces, weapons employment, environmental protection, electronic warfare, command and control, psychological operations, logistic operations, mobilization forces, weapons of mass destruction, peacekeeping missions, crisis management, the NATO training system, and public information. The courses are continually revised and updated to reflect current operations and developments in NATO.

The expanded role of the school is reflected in its staff and faculty. In 2010, the school employed 185 military officers, NCOs and civilians representing 25 nations, including: Austria, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, The Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom, the United States and Switzerland.

Bomb plot

In December 1984 NATO School was the target of an attempted car bombing by the radical Red Army Faction

Red Army Faction

The radicalized were, like many in the New Left, influenced by:* Sociological developments, pressure within the educational system in and outside Europe and the U.S...

; the device failed to go off.