NATO Communications and Information Systems School

The NATO Communications and Information Systems School, (NCISS), is the School that provides formal technical training for NATO on certain Communication and information Systems (CIS) deployed on operations or exercises by the Alliance. NCISS operates as a training establishment for both NATO Strategic Commands and since 2004 it is responsible to the NATO CIS Services Agency (NCSA), in consultation with Allied Command Transformation (ACT).

Historical notes

Inaugurated in 1959 as a Contractor Training Facility to conduct ACE HIGH instruction, the School hosted by an Italian Air Force Base in Latina (at that time the Centro Tecnico Addestrativo Difesa Aerea – CTA-DA), with the transformation of the Alliance was later modified to become the present day NATO Communications and Information Systems School.

In January 1963 SHAPE assumed full control of this still relatively small facility and recruited NATO civilian instructional staff to replace those of the civil contractor.

In 1964 the training responsibility was extended into the area of Command and Control with the introduction of the "Status, Control Alert and Reporting System" (SCARS). The facility at this time was named the "SHAPE Centralised Training Facility" (SCTF). A further expansion occurred in the early 1970's with the addition to the training curriculum of Satellite Communications (SATCOM).

In April 1974 the title of the SCTF was changed to "NATO Communications School Latina" (NCS). To satisfy the increasing requirements arising from NATO's Integrated Communications System (NICS) concept, a project for a custom built training facility was initiated in 1976. This project called for a facility comprising a training and administrative building and a separate student accommodation block. The new complex was opened in 1983. It enabled the School to take on additional training associated with NICS such as TARE, IVSN and TCF, and allowed the School to cater for future developments within NATO CIS.

The School entered the area of Officer Training in the late 1970's with courses for NATO CIS Staff Officers, Officers CIS Orientation, Communications Security Officers and ADP Site/Terminal Area Security Officers.

On the occasion of the 30th Anniversary in 1989 the School was renamed "NATO Communications and Information Systems School" (NCISS) since with the introduction and increased use of specific Command and Control Information Systems within NATO, a requirement arose for software engineering and programming. In the 1990's the School entered the area of ADP, project management and information systems training, part of it being offered as off-site courses throughout NATO Europe.

In October 1994, the first CIS Officers’ Course for Cooperation Partner (CP) Nations was conducted at Latina. This course is now included in our annual training schedule. The School successfully introduced Computer Assisted Training (CAT) modules on all its courses and analyzed the parameters for future contractor produced CAT and Advanced Distant Learning (ADL) programmes.

Additionally, in the last ten years, the lessons learned from NATO operations introduced the requirement of more deployable and mobile systems, to which the relative training is now being conducted in Latina.

Concurrently, in 2004 the NATO CIS Services Agency (NCSA) was established within NATO, with the mission to ensure the provision of secure “end-to-end” information exchange services required for NATO Consultation, Command, and Control (NC3) functions, using fielded communications and information systems in the most cost-effective manner, and the School was put under its organisation.

In the recent past and to date, the School is challenged with supplementary training, as a result of NATO involvement in "Beyond NATO’s Area of Responsibility" operations.

Where does NCISS fit into NATO organisation?

It now operates as a training establishment for both NATO Strategic Commands and is responsible to the NATO CIS Services Agency (NCSA), in consultation with Allied Command Transformation (ACT).

NCISS is co-located with and receives support from the Italian Air Force Base in Latina (now 4° Reparto Tecnico Manutentivo Difesa Aerea/ Assistenza al Volo e Telecomunicazioni - 4th RTM/DA/AV/TLC). A Bilateral agreement (Memorandum for Working Arrangements – MWA) between NATO (NCSA) and the Host Nation (ITA MOD) regulates all aspects of the support provided.

The School organization

NCISS Commandant

This post is assigned to an Italian Air Force Colonel. However, in the past it was covered also by Officers from other Nations. The name Commandant was first adopted when Mr Robert J. Pinoteau, a contractor first and then a NATO civilian who was a former French Navy Commandant, was appointed as the first Training Facility Director, in 1964. Since then, also when in 1971 the School was under the responsibility of the first military Colonel (Col. RNLA Theodore De Bie) the name has remained, also due to the fact that, being the School hosted on an Italian Air Force Base, in Italian language the appointment of the Head of a Military Body is pronounced "Comandànte".

The Chief of Staff (COS) and Command Group

They are responsible of the coordination of the activities assigned to the two Branches of the School, and take care of the planning and policy, either for works and for the training aspects. Additionally they also manage the System Approach to Training (SAT) methodology.

The Training Branch

Core business of the School, the Training Branch is responsible for all training aspects at NCISS. It is composed of a Training Management office, responsible for the student administration, and the instructors are divided into some specific Subject Matter Expert Pools.

The Support Branch

As far as the support to a typical military Unit is concerned, this is taken care of by the Support Branch. Its area of responsibility covers mainly financial, logistics, security, Information Technology and Personnel aspects.