On the 18th of February, Col. Paolo Sandri, the Chief of ITA Army Innovation Office, visited the NATO Security Force Assistance Centre of Excellence (NATO SFA COE).
As part of the 3rd General Planning Division of the Italian Army General Staff (IAGS), the “Army Innovation Office” both contributes to the capacity development of the Armed Forces through the development and experimentation of innovative concepts and supplies the promotion and the dissemination of doctrine and lessons learned.
During the visit, the Director, Col Massimo Di Pietro, briefed the delegation on the main projects and activities planned in the current Program of Work (POW 2021) highlighting those requested by the Allied Command Transformation in support of the NATO community.
The focus of attention was the SFA Operator profile project, run in collaboration with the military psychologists of the Italian Army General Staff, aimed at defining the most proficient Trainer, Mentor and Adviser’s profile in the SFA environment. The development of this project also stresses the great versatility of SFA as a relevant military contribution to Stability Operations.
The Director pointed out how SFA plays an important role in the future operational environment in mitigating the emerging hybrid and asymmetric threats by improving the capacity building of the Local Forces in fragile states.
The visit was successfully concluded with an open discussion on the main topics covered and posed the basis for future collaboration in common area of interest in innovation and experimentation.
