On the 11th of December, the NATO Security Force Assistance Centre of Excellence (NATO SFA COE) held its second Steering Committee meeting of 2025. The event took place in Austria, a Contributing Participant of the COE.
Following the welcome address by the Chairman, Col. Massimiliano Abbate, and the formal approval of the agenda, the Director of the Centre, Col. Massimo Moncada, thanked all participants and presented the status of the 2025 Programme of Work (PoW), highlighting the most relevant ongoing projects.
Subsequently, the COE staff presented the main projects planned for 2026, including the associated financial planning, and provided an overall update on the Centre’s activities.
Among the key topics addressed by the Steering Committee were:
– a new project entitled “SFA Agent”, powered by artificial intelligence, aimed at providing SFA operators (advisors, mentors, and trainers) with advanced cognitive training tools to enhance their experience within existing training solutions;
– a new research paper analysing the evolving dynamics of Cognitive Warfare and their implications for SFA, including risks to decision-making processes and partner force legitimacy;
– new training opportunities, including the development of the Capacity Building functional training, a European course in close coordination with the European Security and Defence College (ESDC) and the possibility of deploying of a Mobile Education and Training Team.
– the recent release of the NATO SFA COE Code of Conduct, aligned with the NATO Code of Conduct and based on five core ethical principles, expanding its applicability to all categories of personnel and addressing standards of behaviour, including provisions on misconduct and the responsible use of social media.
The Steering Committee concluded successfully with the endorsement of all activities and projects outlined in the Programme of Work, as well as the approval of the 2026 financial plan, reaffirming the commitment of the Sponsoring Nations and the Contributing Participant to the advancement of the SFA domain.
