Page 8 - Cormorant Issue 18

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why it’s so important the wider world understands what we do here.
Liz: I understand that you are keen to develop the role of the Cormorant Alumni?
Commandant: Yes that’s right. Why am
I so xed with that idea? I’ve looked at several areas where I believe our alumni can help us. Take for example the US Naval War College and their ‘distinguished alumni’ record. Many of the people on that roll
of honour are now 3 and 4 star of cers, including the chiefs of their respective
online or physically. Our College possesses one of the best military libraries in the world. PhD students regularly travel
from London and further a eld to use
our library. Similarly the King’s College academics working at the Defence Academy are also an incredible resource; it’s actually King’s biggest department. In addition
our turnover of high-quality directing
staff constantly brings new ideas and new experience to the College that more people should be able to readily tap into.
This all facilitates what many organisations now term ‘performance support’ or ‘on job support’. The idea is that you gain
an education here and go back into the workplace; on encountering problems
you can use the resources of the Defence Academy and the network you’ve developed during ACSC18 and similar courses to
help you overcome those problems and challenges. This is where the power of
the network as a means to collaborate and improve your performance really comes into its own; it really is very powerful and I’m not sure we are fully exploiting it. My own networks from ACSC, HCSC and RCDS have been enormously helpful, especially over the last seven years or so in helping
me to achieve things and to overcome some of the challenges that I’ve been presented with. I am absolutely sold on the power of the network; now I’ve just got to enable it for you.
“I’ve looked at several areas where I beli”eve
our alumni can help
services. There are also diplomats, ambassadors
and governors;
the list is simply fantastic. So people looking at that list
us. of ‘distinguished alumni’ think “I
want to be part of that and meet some of those people; one
day I could be part of their number”. That’s one thing we need to do better. They know who their alumni are, where they are and what they are doing. I’m not con dent we are in that position.
The other thing the US has is a ‘postgraduate system of lifelong learning’. The alumni network should allow you to drop back into the College, be it virtually
An International Student Perspective by Lt Col Florian Daeubner
“One ought, every day at least, to hear a
little song, read a good poem, see a ne picture, and, if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words.” -- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship
The months have been ying by since August 2014, when over 80 international students from almost 50 countries around
the world, in parts accompanied by
their families, arrived at Shrivenham
and joined their British fellows to participate in the Advanced Command and Staff Course Number 18 at the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom. Looking back, the last year has been much more than just an excellent opportunity to develop our professional skills as military