School For Colonels Part 1

Description

This film shows how officers and senior civil servants from all NATO countries (then 14 total) are trained in the special skills required to build a coordinated defense force out of national armies. On the site of the historic Ecole Militaire in Paris, which has been turned into a "school for colonels," officials learn how to promote international cooperation. Language ability and a knack for understanding other nations' ways of doing business are every bit as important as the mastery of logistics and tactics. The film follows a class on its orientation trip to NATO airfields, ports, and military command centers while also providing an informative look at the extraordinary efforts needed to make NATO effective. Defense personnel attend lectures by notable scholars such as Arnold Toynbee, tour defense facilities in London, and inspect new jets. They also visit the French zone of Germany, journey to a training camp in Norway, and see the Kon-Tiki raft on display. This is a Marshall Plan film, directed by Julian Spiro, narrated by Leo Genn, and produced for NATO by the Office of Information, U.S. Special Representative in Europe (MSA/SRE), with music composed by Elisabeth Lutyens and performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of John Hollingsworth.

Collection

Records of the U.S. Information Agency

Series

Moving Images Relating to U.S. Domestic and International Activities