Page 10 - Cormorant Issue 18

8
A Year in the Life of the Directing Staff by Wg Cdr Stu Lindsell
HOW CAN I BEST describe life on the directing staff in 600 words? I know, I shall use the trusted ACSC formula; introduction,
conclusion, a BLUF and avoid use of
the word ‘epistemological.’ Working as a member of the DS is a fantastic job; as it was described to me when I arrived “it is hard work, but a different kind of hard.” That is a spot-on description and most importantly, we get to work with you; a highly-motivated and challenging bunch who keep us rmly on our DS toes.
The course began with the Single Service Introductions. Then, as we progressed into the Term 1 syndicates for the Command, Leadership and Management Module, the ACSC shock of capture truly set in and the DS witnessed the syndicates gel through Tuckman’s ‘forming, storming, norming’ journey. We showed you the workload graph
2 workload graph
once more and we
sensed that denial,
whilst still present, was starting to erode. The rest of the year, as they say, is now history. With Swift Response 3, DP&SM, Campaigning, the DRP and the Ends, Ways and Means modules rmly behind you, I hope you look back with a healthy nostalgia and well-earned sense of achievement.
As for some of the challenges of being a DS, keeping up with the SRA preparation and stage reading is a major task (I can sense the wave of sympathy fast approaching). Mid-terms and end of course reports consume a far greater amount of time than you might expect and teaching DP&SM and Campaigning is certainly a high workload (although on the plus-side we do get to frequently use the phrase ‘wave- topping’). The main aspect you do not see as a student is the enormous work that goes towards preparing and marking your formal assessments. The process of marking and moderation is lengthy, scrupulously
fair and a major element of being on the staff. Key highlights of the job include the Service dinners and social functions, the single Service and RSE visits, guessing who will ask the next question in Cormorant Hall and opening up one’s inbox to see if the new edition of The Shag has arrived. On a more serious note, the real highlight is seeing your syndicates intellectually develop and progress during the year, both individually and as teams.
On behalf of all of the DS, I wish you the very best for your futures; it was a privilege to share the learning journey with you. As VCDS briefed, some of you will return to be DS on future courses. I highly recommend this to you; it is a very rewarding joint post with stability and great people. In short, it is hard work, but a different kind of hard. Good luck to you all.
“...marking and moderation
is lengthy,
scrupulously fair
and a major elem”ent of being on the staff
for the rst time to illustrate the Term
2 ‘peak’ and sensed everyone hoped the reality would not be that taxing.
During the year the DS focus is to keep ahead of the game with the SRA reading
material and to strike the right balance in the syndicate room. In conjunction with the King’s College academic staff, we are mandated to meet the training objectives and learning outcomes. We try to do so
by bringing in your personal experience as much as possible and hopefully without disappearing down too many ‘rabbit holes.’ The SRA aim is to enable you to think, analyse, converse, learn and re ect as each topic progresses, facilitated by the DS and
I sincerely hope we achieved that. At the end of Term 1 you were shown the Term