Page 4 - The Cormorant Issue 14

Foreword
Commandant JSCSC
Air Vice-Marshal Ray Lock CBE BSc FRAeS RAF
Back in March this year, celebrating ten years of the JSCSC at Watchfield, in his own words the “world’s most highly-trained plaque unveiler” Prince Phillip visited a Staff College that looked good and felt good, infrastructure and inhabitants alike. Else- where within this magazine, the previous Academy Director Gen- eral underlines the importance of developing an agile adaptable mind, and our Dean takes forward an idea we proposed in a recent RUSI article that Defence should look on itself as a pro- fession, with all that that entails; and all this to be set against a backdrop of the FCOC and SDSR.1 So with the three of us agreeing that military education has never been more important, I should also caution that it has never been more under threat.
Of the three most significant ‘Security’ events that took place during the last year, I wonder which will have the greatest impact in the long term (I exclude the death of Osama bin Laden, which, as I write, I feel will be an event no greater than an historical foot- note). You could argue that it was the Japanese tsunami and subsequent power station disaster, which potentially sets back the development of nuclear alternatives to fossil fuels by dec- ades, threatening energy security and increasing the risk of con- flict in already unstable regions. You could argue that it was the ‘Arab Spring/Awakening’, which has added at least in the short term to that instability in areas critical to the West’s economic prosperity, even leaving to one side for now whatever the Libyan adventure delivers. You could argue that, parochially, it was the SDSR, which has perhaps left the UK ill-equipped to deal with current security issues, let alone those that might spring forth from either of the previous two events, some terrible apocalypti- cal combination thereof, or the unforeseeable future.
Without wishing to rake over the coals of the Defence Review, as Commandant of the Staff College it is that final local difficulty – the SDSR – that has caused me the greatest alarm. We all understand the need to share the nation’s pain in overcoming the budget deficit and correcting the country’s overall financial posi- tion, and there have been, and probably always will be, debates about how what remains in the public purse should be divvied up. No, my concerns lie not within the absolutes of control totals and departmental settlements, but rather with the intrinsic value we place upon education.
My interpretation of what the future officer needs is more, rather than less, time spent studying; and greater rather than fewer people doing it; and broader not narrower fields of study. Not necessarily a great insight, but it rather runs counter to what the dreaded faceless ‘bean-counters’ would have us do if the full strictures of the SDSR and subsequent financial planning round were to be imposed upon us – minimum study, minimum students: a sort of “Aldi Command and Staff Course”. It has become rather clichéd to recall what Germany managed to achieve in the late 1930s, when Defence spending was some- what limited, by having protected her military education system between the two World Wars. But it is a valid point.
Quite how we place an output value on the clearly measurable input cost of any of our educational courses remains a challenge. I can tell you how much the PFI costs and what we get from it. I can tell you the price of our military staff. But I can’t tell you what value a graduate from the Advanced Course brings to
1 Future Character of Conflict; Strategic Defence and Security Review.
an acquisition post, squadron command or Main Building trunk monkey. And breaking down individual aspects of any of our courses opens Pandora’s box – sure, lectures in the Cormorant at £350 a throw (a pound a head – what a bargain!) are cheap compared to a Staff Ride or Regional Security Exercise. But who would benefit from a year spent only in lectures? Does that sound appealing to a military warrior, a military professional?
I bring this up now, because something we have consistently and collectively failed to do over the years is to explain the value of our work here at the College. We have rather assumed that every sane thinking person would instinctively appreciate the importance of Staff education. True, to a point; but when the times get tough, instincts seem to revert to longest-held beliefs, which tend towards supporting tactical hardware and training, abandoning people-ware and education. And the cadre of Joint Staff College graduates is only now reaching influential admiral/ general/air marshal-dom. Put bluntly, we have few supporters with Joint Staff College DNA outside of our staff and student alumni and, whilst the Command Group and I are seized with the need to sell our wares, I would also invite all Cormorants to make their views heard on the value of a Staff College education.
Yes, we should change to meet the demands of the new career model. Yes, we should embrace new and more effective edu- cation methods. Yes, we should learn from current operations whilst continuing to educate that which endures. Yes, we should do all this, and more, whilst consuming the same resources, or less. The United Kingdom invests around £35 billion in Defence every year; we cost less than £50 million. You can, should, and I am certain will repay that modest investment by employing your enhanced thinking skills, your more developed problem-solving abilities, your broader vision and your better honed communica- tion talents.
The late, great and very much lamented Richard Holmes oft said of doctrine that it was not that which is taught; it was that which is believed. To all Cormorants, and in particular to Advanced Course 14 graduates, I want you to believe in what you’ve learnt here, and also believe in the College that set you on your way (or at least encouraged you in a certain direction). The challenges Staff College graduates face are greater now than at any time in recent memory. The United Kingdom and our friends abroad need Defence professionals like you, and educational establish- ments like the Staff College. As one of the Chiefs of Staff said here recently: stick around, and see how it ends.
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