In their final month of Advanced Command and Staff Course (ACSC) 28, course members embarked on a staff ride to Normandy, for Exercise Cormorant Finale.
The staff ride follows completion of their formal submissions and Defence Research Papers and marks the last exercise of the course.
Roughly 300 personnel travelled across the channel structured over 2 waves with some course members sailing or cycling to and from Normandy:
- a small flotilla of yachts known as Exercise Cormorant DASH
- a cycle group of 64 travelled from St Malo up to the Normandy beaches under Exercise Cormorant VELO
Each wave covered three days of nine bespoke “stands” up and down the length of the D-Day operations. Led by a member of the King’s College London Defence Studies Department each stand provided a chance to enjoy the incredible history but also the opportunity to reflect on the contemporary and future significance, drawing upon personal experiences, roles, jobs and the teachings while on the course.
The staff ride also allowed course members to enjoy peer interaction and reaffirm the deep network that 12 months of studying together has formed.
Lieutenant Colonel John Russell, Deputy Chief of Staff ACSC 28 and the exercise lead said:
“Exercise Cormorant Finale is the perfect way to finish the course, it is blend of the fantastic history, brought to life by King’s College London staff and the sociability you would expect from two nights in beautiful Normandy in the summer, certainly a highlight of the course and a fitting way to finish such an intensive period of study.”
Course members returned to Shrivenham with only two weeks remaining before ACSC 28 graduation, with the international ceremony taking place on 10 July and the main graduation ceremony on 18 July.