Subject matter experts from NRDC-ITA affiliated units traveled to Ugo Mara Barracks to participate in a five-day Information Operations (Info Ops) Course.
The term Info Ops refers to a military activity which takes place in the virtual environment, aimed at having an effect on the will, understanding and capability of an adversary.
With the purpose of training and exercising selected personnel from various countries of the Alliance to operate as Info Ops staff, this course was a further opportunity to enhance the importance of the Information Environment.
In this newly emerging and challenging scenario, NRDC-ITA continues to develop its own capabilities, whilst understanding the importance of new technologies such as social media. Taking advantage of the availability of direct communication with a desired audience, whilst mitigating the propaganda of an adversary, were the key aspects of the course material.
This first iteration of the Information Operations Course further enhanced the skills and capabilities in the knowledge, analysis and assessment of the Information Environment. Expert speakers from the NATO Strategic Communication Centre of Excellence in Riga (Latvia), the NATO Joint Force Command in Naples and the 28th “Pavia” Regiment in Pesaro were invited to share their expertise throughout the week.
This activity is an integral part of the training calendar for NRDC-ITA and reaffirms its role as a training hub for NATO as well as Italian units.
Having recently completed its turn as Land Component Command within the NATO Response Force HQ, NRDC-ITA is now fully engaged in the process of realigning itself as a war fighting corps HQ. In order to meet the considerable threats of a 21st century battlefield, including those in the Information Environment, the Milan based Command is constantly looking to improve internal processes and learn from outside experts. In doing so it remains able to adapt an agile decision making process, on time and on target, in both the physical and virtual informational space.