The Advanced Command and Staff Course travel across the globe to six destinations as part of Regional Security Exercise 2.
As the Advanced Command and Staff Course (ACSC) enters the last few months of their yearlong course the busy programme has seen them continue their international travels.
In the New Year, the course members travelled to primarily European destinations as part of the Regional Security Exercise (RSE) 1, but this time they travelled further afield as part of RSE 2.
The course was split into mixed groups of approximately 50 personnel who travelled simultaneously to one of six global destinations: The USA (west coast), under the Hacking for Ministry of Defence (H4MOD), Ghana, Turkey, The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Vietnam (offset by one week due to a national holiday).
The RSEs are a key element of the course and offer a significant opportunity for course members and directing staff to immerse themselves into a country as a representation of the wider region. RSE allows them to gain a better understanding of regional security threats, structures and institutions as well as environmental differences, plus enjoying the cultural opportunities.
Lieutenant Colonel John Russell, Deputy Chief of Staff ACSC and lead directing staff for the visit to Saudi Arabia said:
“It is a challenge to get almost 300 military personnel from 54 different countries to travel simultaneously to such diverse locations, but it is worth it. All who travelled have benefited significantly from the professional and personal opportunity. Our thanks go to all the Joint Services Command and Staff College and wider Defence Academy support staff who facilitated this.
“Every country visited had it highlights, but as a security exercise it was appropriate and notable that the visit to Turkey gave a deeper insight than expected by coinciding with the tensions of their May Day Parades while in Istanbul and clearly the visit to Pakistan in the week of heightened regional tensions added a focus to their visit.”
The visits were supported by the in-country Defence Sections which facilitated privileged access to ministerial levels and in the case of Ghana, a royal audience.
Next in the ACSC calendar includes 60 courses members being split across staff colleges in Hamburg, Paris, Rome and Madrid as part of the reciprocal Combined Joint Exercise for the remainder of May, followed by the entire course visiting Normandy as part of Exercise Cormorant Finale in late June to early July, just prior to the completion of the course in mid-July.