Page 97 - The Royal Lancers Chapka 2019

REGIMENTAL JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL LANCERS (QUEEN ELIZABETHS’ OWN)
Every year there are a range of Overseas Staff Colleges (OSC) opportunities available for newly promoted Majors. When I consulted the list, I felt I had nothing to lose by applying to spend three years in Italy; one conducting staff college in Rome, followed by two years in a plans job in the Acqui Division HQ near Naples. The application for OSCs are boarded and follow- ing this process I was fortunate to receive the much-welcomed news that my family and I would be moving to Rome in the sum- mer of 2019.
In January 2019 I started the six-month residential course that aims to equip you for your time conducting staff college in Rome. Of course, a six-month language course prior to attending staff college in another language will leave you wanting more. Nonetheless, the course did advance me at a healthy rate giv- en that learning Italian became my day job. My language was further accelerated by a “compulsory” month in Rome where I attended a civilian language school and lived with a host family to gain a true fully immersive experience. Coincidently, for Ma- jors at this point in your career, a six-month stint in Shrivenham whilst your peers are on ICSC(L) provides a good social aspect and it was a period that my wife and daughter both thoroughly enjoyed.
Upon completion of the language course and subsequent exams the Burwell’s moved to Rome in August where we were housed in the Parioli neighbourhood. A pleasant period of acclimatisa- tion through the remainder of August consisted of familiarising ourselves with the embassy swimming pool (access is essential
The Centre For Higher Defence Studies (CASD). The home of ISSMI, Rome
for a summer in Rome), finding the best places for apertivi and obviously starting to scratch the surface of a fantastic city. Sep- tember was then spent conducting an invaluable further four weeks language training at a school within Italy before October and staff college or the Istituto Superiore di Stato Maggiore Inter- forze (ISSMI) were upon me.
ISSMI is a tri-service course which provides the same func- tion for the Italian military that the Advanced Command Staff Course (ACSC) provides to the British Army, i.e. preparing the next generation of unit commanders. The Carabinieri and Guar- dia di Finanzia (a border police/customs and excise equiva- lent) are also represented but in much smaller numbers. The course is run at an academy a stone’s throw away from the Vat- ican City and for my iteration has 140 students. Within this cohort of 140, I am one of 23 international students. The stu- dents are sub-divided into three sections and within these sec- tions we are further broken down into gruppi di lavori (syndi- cates) of circa 14 people. Each syndicate has a healthy tri-service mix and I’ve found that my Italian colleagues have an average of nine or 10 years seniority on a UK Major conducting this course instead of ICSC(L) given their proximity to unit command.
ISSMI is aligned to a Master’s programme in International Stra- tegic Military Studies from the University of Turin and, as a re- sult, follows an interesting curriculum. At the time of writing we have completed modules in international relations, strategic studies and international politics and each module quite rightly affords no leeway for the linguistic abilities of the international cohort. All presentations and syndicate work are conducted in Italian with the result being that you have to attempt to get stuck in and become comfortable with the fact that you’re likely to make a few errors as you try and express your humble opinion. The result however is a fast acceleration of your language skills, especially listening, following the long mornings of professors discussing the intricacies of the contemporary global order in their mother tongue.
For any senior Captains looking for an interesting start to their initial years as a Major I strongly recommend looking at what OSC opportunities are available to your cohort. The experience is truly unique and has been much welcomed by visiting Lanc- ers, as well my family, of course.
TJB
This Road Led to Rome
Father and Daughter Enjoying Life in Rome - Heidi-Rose Burwell and Maj Burwell
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