An Cosantóir

22 | DEVELOPING A CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE In this feature Wesley Bourke interviews Col Michael Meehan, Sch Comdt, Command and Staff (C&S) School, the Military College, about the School's activities and future plans. An Cosantóir: What courses are con- ducted in the Command and Staff School and can you tell us some- thing about them? Col Meehan: The Command and Staff School delivers two career courses at the highest level of De- fence Forces officer development, the Senior Command and Staff (SC&S) Course and the Senior Officers Stra- tegic Leadership Course. The SC&S Course is a nine-month residential course, conducted annu- ally. The aim is to develop flexible minds that will enable our graduates to analyse and conceptualise in a military context, in order to make timely and logical decisions that will enhance effectiveness throughout the full range of military environ- ments, both at home and abroad. Syllabus includes: Deployable Joint Staff Element HQ (DJSE) training; defence studies and international relations; command leadership and human resource management; strategic studies; military history and campaign analysis; joint- and com- bined operations; crisis management operations and stabilisation studies. The course also includes a Regional Security Studies module, which encompasses briefings in Brussels on operational and strategic develop- ments within the European Union. Successful graduates are conferred with an MA LMDS - Master of Arts An Cosantóir February 2012 degree in Leadership, Management and Defence Studies - in partnership with NUI Maynooth. The Strategic Leader- ship Course is the final formal officer development course and is part of the Defence Forces' commitment to life- long learning, an area that is now part of the currency of personal develop- ment across the world in all walks of life, where the need to commit to con- tinuing education and development is accepted as the norm. The aim of the Strategic Leader- ship Course is to promote a culture of reflexive leadership among senior offi- cers who have responsibility to define how the DF can best position itself within an evolving, globalised, post- modern context. The course explores current understanding and future trends in leadership and management; the challenges pertinent at the strate- gic level of the organisation; and how the DF, as an organisation, interacts with its external environment. The course is designed to benefit the strategic level of the DF by creat- ing, as stated by Chief of Staff Lt Gen Seán McCann in his opening address to the Strategic Leadership Course, "a talent pool of strategic leaders and thinkers at all levels of the organisa- tion and to cultivate and refine the managerial and leadership talents required to move the organisation towards its strategic objectives". Successful graduates are awarded a Certificate in Strategic Leadership, at Level 10 (Doctorate level), from NUI Maynooth. An Cos: What is your vision for the C&S School? Col Meehan: My vision sees the C&S School catering for the profes- sional education of senior officers by developing future DF Senior Leaders who are critical and dynamic think- ers, innovators and rational decision- makers who pursue professional excellence and are capable of un- derstanding and functioning in the complex military, economic, informa- tion and diplomatic environment. An Cos: Why is the development of critical thinking so important for the military profession? Col Meehan: A number of central themes and threads run through all aspects of education in the C&S School. On the SC&S Course the educational ethos seeks to expand and develop broad visions after extensive and systematic analysis. The three pillars, which support the

• Cover