The Joint Command and Staff Course: responding to the educational needs of senior officers in the Irish Defence Forces.

Abstract

The Defence Forces are Ireland's military instrument of national power with responsibilities for national security and defence. The Irish government is committed to supporting international peace and security by deploying Defence Forces' personnel on United Nations peacekeeping missions and EU and NATO-led crisis management operations. However, the characteristics of the contemporary operating environment (COE) make military operations today more complex than at any other time in human history. To operate effectively in the COE requires officers that are educated to cope with uncertainty and have highly developed critical thinking skills. This article examines the Defence Force's response to the challenge of educating its senior leaders through the recently developed Joint Command and Staff Course delivered in partnership with Maynooth University. This paper advances the argument that developing its personnel's intellectual
capacities is essential for the Defence Forces to operate effectively in the uncertainty of the modern security environment.