An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir April 2015 www.dfmagazine.ie 18 | by CAPT GAVIN EGERTON, OTW, INF SCH L ocated in the DFTC's Military College, the Infantry School conducts a wide range of instructor and careers courses for students from all corps of the army. With the Director of Infantry as school commandant, the Infantry School comprises of the officer Training Wing, nCo Train- ing Wing and the Infantry Weapons Wing. In this, the first instalment of a three-part series of articles highlighting the work of the Infantry School, Capt Gavin Egerton focusses on the oTW's Junior Command and Staff Course. Once a year, the Infantry School's Officer Training Wing conducts the Junior Command and Staff Course (JCSC). This 25-week course is a hugely important stepping stone in the professional development of an army officer's career and is an essential qualification for promotion to commandant. The course normally accommodates up to 24 captains from all corps of the army and one or more foreign stu- dents. The last number of JCSC courses included officers from the Maltese Armed Forces. Although a requirement for promotion, the JCSC is actu- ally designed for junior captains, as it imparts the necessary skills that equip officers to function as members of a bat- talion staff, supporting the commander in his planning and execution of operations, both at home and overseas. The primary staff functions of S1 (Personnel), S2 (Intel- ligence), S3 (Operations), and S4 (Logistics) are practiced throughout the course during command post exercises (CPXs) and through tactical exercises without troops (TEWTs). Students are required to complete a number of TEWTs to practice their skills using the estimate of the situation as part of the military decision-making process (MDMP). While TEWTs are an individual effort, the CPXs rely heavily on teamwork and practice students in a variety of battalion command and staff appointments, invariably in a pressurised environment. Through careful analysis and teamwork, operations orders (OpOrds) are prepared and delivered to the battalion staff and instructors. The MDMP is the essential core of the JCSC syllabus, and the fact that

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