Captain Barry Kell, SO3 NATO Collective Training & Exercise, the Integrated Warfare Centre
Our people are the lifeblood of CSOC – a dedicated force of 26,000 specialists stationed at over 130 sites worldwide. From cyber warriors and medics to intelligence analysts, special forces, educators, and Defence attachés, our specialists are ready to fight across all domains to protect the UK.
Find out how our specialist operators are across every UK operation, delivering the capabilities you don’t usually see - or those you can’t.
The Strategic Defence Review outlines moving to "warfighting readiness" and establishing a more lethal integrated force.
That transformation doesn't happen in isolation - it happens through the daily work of building relationships, sharing expertise, and ensuring that UK and NATO capabilities develop together.
Captain Kell works on just this, his role in the Integrated Warfare Centre, which serves as Cyber & Specialist Operations Command's (CSOC) warfare centre, ensures that the UK's contribution to NATO exercises is aligned and impactful - making sure Britain doesn't just participate in NATO, we lead it.
From Regiment to NATO
When I commissioned into the Royal Logistic Corps in 2019, I never imagined that some years later I’d be immersed in the world of NATO Collective Training and Exercising. After two regimental posts, I moved into my current role within the Integrated Warfare Centre at Cyber & Specialist Operations Command (CSOC). The role ensures that the UK’s contribution to NATO exercises is coherent, relevant, and impactful.
It’s not about issuing orders or having formal authority. My job is to influence, connect, and educate – making sure the right people are in the right conversations at the right time. In many ways, we’re the bridge between UK defence and NATO, helping the UK to be seen not just as a participant, but as a leading contributor.
Shaping Exercises that matter
Each year NATO’s priorities are set by the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR)’s Collective Training and Exercise Directive. This document outlines the exercise programme two years in detail and five years in outline, covering everything from the large-scale STEADFAST series to niche, domain-specific events in areas such as space and cyber.
My small team, within CSOC, works to align UK involvement with that cycle. Sometimes that means promoting attendance at planning milestones. Sometimes it’s helping UK subject-matter experts take part in NATO script-writing sessions – where they can shape exercise storylines to benefit both NATO and UK forces. I often describe this as “helping the UK find the stepping stones to a NATO-first mindset.”
Defence diplomacy in action
Beyond planning, we also support the UK’s role in exercise execution. Whether through response cells, observer roles, or specialist augmentees, these activities show NATO allies that the UK is committed and credible. They also help us build relationships and bring valuable insights back home.
We work closely with organisations across Defence to push for the UK to be visible and influential at every stage, strengthening our ties through practical cooperation.
This matters more than ever; we're in a new era of threat that demands deeper integration with our allies.
Making NATO work for the UK
Part of our uniqueness is understanding the mechanics of NATO exercises. For example, we manage the process of linking UK national exercises into larger NATO series like STEADFAST DEFENDER. We also guide UK services on how to access NATO common funding – a financial resource that helps offset costs but is often overlooked.
Another tool is the clearing-house mechanism, which allows nations to offer or request specialist expertise. It’s about matchmaking needs and capabilities so both NATO and the UK benefit.
Lessons in scale and diversity
Coming into this job from regimental duty was like moving from a hillside to a mountain range. Suddenly the scope of defence felt enormous. Working alongside NATO colleagues has been an education in itself – not just in processes and structures, but in culture. Conversations over coffee can be as valuable as formal meetings, giving insight into how different nations think and work.
Those differences don’t divide us; they strengthen us. Diversity of experience and perspective ultimately breeds better outcomes – and that’s one of NATO’s greatest strengths.
The CSOC difference
What excites me most about working within CSOC is the direction of travel: deeper UK integration with NATO, more visible contributions in key domains like space and cyber, and an exercise programme that constantly adapts to new threats.
CSOC represents the future of warfare - integrated operations across multiple domains where traditional boundaries between air, land, sea, space, and cyber become irrelevant. When NATO exercises now routinely include cyber scenarios alongside conventional warfare, or when space-based assets support ground operations, that's the kind of integration we're helping to deliver.
My role and my team's position act as a pivotal seat at the table - one that helps shape how the UK and NATO fight together as a truly joint force. We're not just participating in exercises; we're helping design the future of Alliance warfare.
Building tomorrow's deterrence
Every exercise we influence, every connection we make, and every capability we help integrate contributes to deterring aggression and maintaining the peace that has kept Europe secure for decades. In a world where our adversaries are working more closely together, our Alliance must be even stronger.
That's what makes this role worthwhile. I may have started as a logistics officer, but now I'm helping to build the logistical framework for collective security itself. The stepping stones we're placing today will support the integrated force of tomorrow - one that keeps Britain safe and makes NATO stronger.
seen at 14:30, 19 September in Cyber & Specialist Operations Command.