Page 36 - Cormorant Issue 20 2017

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ACSC (R) 8
Maj Tim Petransky
ACSC(R) 8 RAN FROM 13th May to 29th July 2017. It was designed to prepare selected Reserve of cers for employment in Reserve OF4
command and staff appointments. At the end of the course a Reserve of cer should have the analytical and communications skills
and the professional knowledge and understanding necessary to ll Reserve OF4 command and staff assignments.
Reading that mission statement and looking at the time scale, one could be forgiven for thinking that those ‘selected of cers’ are in for a fairly miserable time in which self - agellation probably counts
as light relief! There may be some truth in that assessment. ACSC (R) is a challenging course with an ambitious objective and therefore the work rate, especially for the residential phase of the course, is demanding. However, the course was also enjoyable and valuable. These attributes did not ow solely from the academic element of the programme; much derived from being placed in dif cult circumstances with a group of like-minded people, the vast majority of whom were keen to share knowledge and learn The joint nature of the course, the inclusion of overseas students and the diversity of Reservists’ backgrounds and day jobs, made the experience even richer.
The Reserve course is split over three phases:
• An induction weekend, which lays out the purpose and methodology of the course, and importantly
“
is an opportunity to meet your syndicate and Directing Staff (DS), forming the valuable bonds that will see you through the remainder of the course.
• A self-study phase (approximately six weeks) spent working from home using the Virtual Learning Environment. Here much of the background reading for the course is completed and it is
the foundation for the remainder of the course. About half of the formally assessed element of
the academic programme is also completed. This consists of a point brief and loose minute and a critical textual analysis which should be nearly completed prior to returning to Shrivenham. These assignments themselves are challenging and scheduled against the back drop of ongoing day jobs, family commitments and the demands of a reservist unit they take on a size out of proportion to their actual dif culty. The acme of skill for the self-study phase, as it is for all Reserve service, is to balance the various demands on your time never allowing one to be overly neglected.
• The two-week residential phase is spent in the relative tranquillity of Shrivenham and the taught element of the course ties together new knowledge with that gained from the self-study phase. In broad terms, the rst week looks at the strategic environment and its impact on defence, the rst half of week two is an introduction to operational level planning, and the last half of week two looks at how the environment impacts on the Reserve.
The residential phase, due to its nature, is the element of the course that sees the greatest interaction between course participants and to my
mind it was the most bene cial part of ACSC (R). There is also a degree of satisfaction here because you are able to consolidate your learning from the self-study phase and blend that with the views of your peers. The residential phase in some ways mirrors the Regular course in terms of content
and methodology. The obvious difference is
that it is shorter and the scope of the course is commensurately reduced. That said, there is still a great deal crammed in.
One of the consistent themes running throughout ACSC (R) is challenge. There is the mental challenge of engaging with and assimilating the course material, and undertaking and completing the assessed elements of the course. Three of four formally assessed pieces of work are all delivered in 10 days. All this runs alongside reading for and preparing syndicate activities, testing the ability to prioritise. What was particularly interesting was seeing how individuals on the course balanced continuing demands of command or demanding day jobs whilst still engaging with the course in a meaningful and good-humoured way. I believe this speaks volumes for the individuals and also demonstrates the overall commitment of the Reservists to balancing their lives to deliver well in all elements of the course.
The obvious strength of the course is that it provides an education for OF4s by investing in a cohort of of cers. A major part of delivering that education falls to the DS. Each of the syndicates have two DS: a Reservist and a Regular of cer which brings an important dynamic to the learning. Participants are able to leverage the experience of the Reservist in facing the challenges of the Reserve and being exposed to a good Reserve role model whilst being
ACSC (R) is a
challenging course with
an ambitious objective... ◆◆◆