Twenty-nine officers from 19 NATO partner countries came through Brussels and Mons this month for the alliance's 26th Partner Staff Officers Familiarization Programme, a recurring effort to walk outside militaries through how NATO actually works.
Sessions at NATO headquarters covered the alliance's structure and partnership programs alongside less obvious material — defense education, institutional reform, integrity standards, climate change and counterterrorism among them. Participants also visited partner missions in Brussels to compare notes on what working with NATO looks like in practice, and sat through briefings on NATO's relationship with the European Union.
The program wrapped up with deeper discussions at NATO's military headquarters in Mons. Officials said the exchange runs both ways — partner countries picking up institutional knowledge is only half of what the alliance gets out of it.