An Cosantóir

| 11 www.military.ie THE DEFENCE FORCES MAGAZINE cornerstone of the Joint Command and Staff Course (JCSC), ingrained in every aspect of the course and examined across all seven modules. Leadership is specifically addressed during the 'Command Leadership Ethics & Management' (CLEM) module. The module is divided into two separate individual instructional blocks, delivered at the start and at the end, essentially book-ending the course. The first block emphasizes Presentation Skills, Personal Awareness and Development, and Personality Profiling to assist students to understand their unique traits. The second block emphasizes Military Command, Leadership, Ethics, and Management. A Leadership Portfolio is maintained by all students throughout the course and is used to chart their individual journey through all modules of the course. The leadership training provided by the Command & Staff School however is not just about producing effective commanders, it is about cultivating individuals who embody the values of the Defence Forces by instilling these principles. Dr. Lawlor (2021) highlights that Clausewitz in On War, states that "knowledge must become capability" (von Clausewitz, 1993). Therefore, the transformation of organisational knowledge into capabilities needs to become a tangible outcome for the organisation's investment in education". The Command & Staff School continues to espouse these values to students so that they are not only competent, but also ethical and compassionate, capable of guiding and meeting any challenge required of the Defence Forces at home or while deployed abroad on overseas service. The Defence Forces Leadership Doctrine provides an invaluable resource in achieving this objective. The Infantry School The Infantry School strives to develop effective leaders who are authentic and consistently live their character grounded on values based action and the development of themselves and their teams. The NCOTW is responsible for the delivery of Defence Forces NCO career courses within the Infantry School. These courses, the All Arms Standard Course (AASC) and the Senior NCOs Course (SNCOC) as well as the Corps specific Infantry Platoon Sergeants Course (IPSC) are based on the premise that to achieve excellence and mission success, it is essential to develop NCO Leaders of Character and Competence. The learning pedagogy utilised by the Infantry School is founded on an experiential (learning) philosophy and methodology. NCOs on the AASC and the SNCOC benefit from two (2) to three (3) days of leadership studies respectively. Day one (1) of these courses is developed to build on the NCOs previous knowledge of Defence Forces Leadership Doctrine and is predominately an academic/theory piece. Day two (2) and day three (3) the focus switches to an experiential leadership model, where students will be given models and will be asked to apply knowledge through their experience, group discussions, self-awareness activities and case studies. The IPSC concentrates on the practical progress of Leadership development through exercises and appointments throughout the course. Throughout the courses we will facilitate the following lessons: The recent publication of the DF Leadership Doctrine (DFDM-J2 2003) is an excellent resource providing an explicit leadership framework, which is the bedrock of all leadership studies conducted in the Infantry School. I strongly encourage all NCOs to read and familiarise yourselves with the content of our DF Leadership Doctrine. This will be a good start if you want to be in the team that has been credited for being the 'glue that holds the organisation together and the oil that keeps the cogs moving' (DFDM –J2, 2023, p. 36) All Arms Standard Cse students complete their Leadership command test appointments 'Best Possible Leader Self' exercise: Students from the 19 AASC working in syndicates identifying positive leadership behaviours in leaders they admire. Just one of the many experiential exercises students on career courses in the Infantry School benefit from. Officers on completion of their Joint Command and Staff Course, and Land Component Staff Course held in the Command & Staff and Infantry Schools

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