Page 10 - The Cormorant Issue 14

ger that such a variety will distract from, or confuse, the message you intend the students to take away?
SB: I would hope not. It’s quite deliberate to give you a variety and it’s also quite deliberate to give you contentious topics and that’s because you’ve got to question your own understanding and beliefs; this is the place to do it. I’d much rather have lectur- ers that come into the Cormorant Hall and metaphorically throw a few pebbles into the pool and see where the ripples go to get you to think about things and then confirm your own views about them, rather than being given a load of party lines by our hierar- chy. That’s not what we want.
CM: In the Cormorant Hall, without alluding to a specific pres- entation, what in your experience makes a lecture most difficult to sum up?
SB: One that I totally disagree with and I’ve had a couple of those, where the conclusions have surprised me and left me slightly lost for words. At that point I just say ‘thank you’.
CM: Comparing your personal experience of your own Advanced Staff Course, how does the modern version stack up?
SB: I did the single-Service course at Camberley as a student and then I was a member of the directing staff at Bracknell on Advanced Course Number 2 while this place was being built. My observation coming back here as the Director was that what had changed from when I was directing staff in ‘99, is that more of the content of the course from when I did the Higher Com- mand and Staff Course in 2004 is now in the Advanced Course. I also reflected on the ICSC Land, Maritime and Air elements and much of what I did on the Advance Course now seems to be in the Intermediate Course, so we are stepping up a level. What I mean by that is that we are at the operational level and there- fore we need to understand the seams between the operational and strategic, and the operational and tactical levels. We have some compression and so it’s difficult to differentiate between the Higher, Advanced and Intermediate Courses and where the balance lies between those three areas. It should be pretty obvi- ous to tell the difference between those three: I’m not sure it is. It’s a reflection of the complexity of the battlespace that stuff that I did on HCSC six years ago is now being taught on the Advanced Course.
CM: What is the most common complaint you have heard about ACSC 14 and in your experience is it unique to this course or common across ACSCs?
SB: We are only just starting Term 2, but I haven’t heard that many complaints about the Course. Come back to me later in the Course, but I don’t think there is anything obvious yet. You’re not as outstanding as the Commandant implied, that would be the only thing and therefore my complaint is that you are getting praise that you don’t necessarily deserve!
CM: Feedback from the wider military has implied that ACSC graduates tend to over-analyse and unnecessarily complicate issues and that they get more educated and less trained at the College. Assuming the source of this criticism to be dependable, what in your opinion can be done to ameliorate it?
SB: That was the sort of theme that I was given when I arrived here, but I think it is anecdotal and I can’t find that much evi- dence of it apart from one senior officer who has already spoken to the Course and whose view was that he needed artisans: plumbers, brick-layers and people who do stuff. His view was that rather than the artisans he got the architects and the design- ers instead. Apart from that, I think the evidence is pretty anec- dotal and certainly, when we get you into Term 3 and we start
going through the campaigning, you will start crunching through a lot of staffwork. It’s not an entirely worthy accusation!
CM: In terms of overall development, do you think a British stu- dent would benefit more from studying at a foreign staff college or at the JSCSC?
SB: On balance, I think that there are certain advantages to being here not least because we are able to have the breadth and depth of international students on this course and we are benefitting from them. As you know there is a very compre- hensive programme of sending students to different countries around the world mainly on reciprocal terms. We and those other colleges are certainly a lot closer than we were ten years ago in terms of links and sharing material, particularly the links with the European colleges that are coming to CJEX: Germans, French, Spanish and Italians, we are pretty close.
CM: Finally, do you really think we have got the concept of ends, ways and means?
SB: I would bloody hope so, after all that time!!
Since the original interview, Brigadier Burley received the news that he was to be posted towards the end of March 2011 and promoted to the rank of major general. By way of a farewell to the College and to the staff and students of ACSC 14, the Cormorant Magazine took the chance to speak to the Brigadier before his departure.
SB: I just wanted to close the interview with a few words for all the students for the future, given that since we last spoke my posting has been confirmed and I’m moving out. To reinforce the farewell words I said in the bar, I really do feel a pang of guilt that I really wanted to see you lot through the journey to the end and it’s with regret that I am not going to be able to do that. I don’t regret it enough to refuse a 2-star promotion and command, but I’m sure you will appreciate that! But I do wish that I could have seen you all through and the ideal time to move would clearly have been during the summer break but for reasons beyond our control that is not going to be possible. I’m entirely confident that Captain Simon Brand will step up and do a fantastic job as the acting DACSC for Term 2; but for Term 3, his focus has got to be on ACSC 15 so Colonel Vosper-Brown will step up in to the chair and take you through for your final term. My focus has been to put in pace an appropriate reporting chain: your End of Course Reports now will be produced part one by your divisional director and everyone’s part 2 will be written by the Comman- dant, so all of you will have 2-star comment at the end, which I hope you feel is appropriate and I think will be beneficial to you.
And just to say you ain’t seen the back of me yet; I will be here for the review and I am coming back for the Purple Ball! I wish you all very good luck. As I said last night, hopefully this course has prepared you for the future in as much as it’s given you a little bit of time to think more deeply about your profession and also what being a leader is all about. In my view it’s very simple: it’s all about that business of delivering example, direction, purpose and energy; if we’ve given you some ideas about that, then we have succeeded. And if I have the pleasure of working with any of you in the future, it will be a genuine pleasure, so again, good luck to you all.
CM: Thank you Brigadier Burley and good luck in your new appointment from all the staff and students of ACSC 14 and all at the Cormorant Magazine!
The Cormorant Magazine
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