Education and Training

​​​INT-MO-37111 Rapid Environmental Assessment (REA) support to Maritime Operations Course

  •  The Second edition of this course will be held in person at the COE's premises in Lisbon, Portugal, from 2 to 6 March 2026, with the support of the School of Hydrography and Oceanography of the Portuguese Hydrographic Institute.
  •  This course is published in the NATO Education and Training Opportunity Catalogue as "Listed" and is designed to provide Meteorological and Oceanographic (METOC) and Geospatial personnel with a better knowledge and understanding of REA activities in support of maritime operations. On completion of the course, participants will be able to:
    • Identify NATO doctrine governing REA support, as well as geospatial and METOC support for military activities.
    • Understand the impact of environmental conditions on naval operations.
    • Identify critical environmental parameters affecting different naval warfare areas.
    • Recognize numerical modelling, in situ observations & remote sensing strategies, and technology.
    • Produce and manipulate REA products to support military decision-making.
  • The course is designed for NATO and national METOC and Geospatial personnel, as well as other military personnel who may be called upon to provide REA support to maritime operations.
  • ​This one-week course consists of interactive lectures followed by practical exercises covering the following topics:
    • ​NATO Geospatial and METOC principles, concepts and doctrine.
    • NATO REA and Recognized Environmental Picture (REP) concepts and doctrine.
    • Impact of the environment on naval operations.
    • Operational modeling.
    • REA technology and survey planning.
    • REA products, including Mission Impact Diagrams, Tactical Decision Aids, Additional Military Layers, and Amphibious Operations Graphics.
    • REA information dissemination and NATO formats and standards.
  • The course will be conducted at NATO UNCLASSIFIED and will be delivered in English with no translation services available. Participants must have a language proficiency equivalent to English SLP 2222 or higher.
    • Rank requirements: Officers (OF-1 through OF-5) and NCOs (OR-5 through OR-9).
    • For further information, please contact  info@mgeometoccoe.org