It was also an opportunity to promote the various Defence Academy facilities that are available for commercial or public use.  The overall purpose of the day was to foster greater engagement and mutual understanding between the Defence Academy and the local community.

The guests were greeted in the Joint Services Command and Staff College by Colonel Peter Cameron OBE and the Academy Sergeant Major, Warrant Officer Class 1 (AcSM) Stuart Simpson.  After coffee, guests moved to the Cormorant Hall where they received a presentation on the Defence Academy by the Director, Lieutenant General Andrew Graham CBE, who was also delighted to have the opportunity to thank the Mayor and Councillors from Wootton Bassett for the town’s unwavering support to the Armed Forces. 

The role of the Joint Services Command and Staff College was covered by Commodore Bruce Williams CBE, the Deputy Commandant, and Mr Peter Williams explained the part played by Serco and its sub-contractors.  Guests then boarded buses for a guided tour of the Shrivenham site which ended at the Academy’s Defence Capability Centre where they were met by Brigadier Robbie Scott-Bowden MBE and received a series of presentations and demonstrations on some of the equipment and innovative research conducted here, and learned, too, the purpose of some of the activities which impact upon the local community.  The visit concluded with a buffet lunch and an opportunity for guests to mingle with staff from the Defence Academy and other professional people from the local area.

The Visitors’ Day was a resounding success marked with one resonating question: “When is the next one?”

Brigadier Robbie Scott-Bowden MBE presented guests with an overview of the Defence College of Management and Technology