Getting the Balance Right: The Australian Command and Staff College and the Part-Time Option

Abstract

This article identifies the opportunity, if not the necessity, for the Australian Defence College to offer a larger pool of mid-ranking Army officers a mission-focused part-time ACSC program. To do this the article will assesses one of the current part-time ACSC options, the Army Reserve ACSC course (ACSC(R)), against its ability to build and develop the skills required of a mid-ranking ‘mission-focused’ officer. This analysis is Army focused; however, the concepts are applicable to a tri-service approach. This article will dispute the notion that all officers who complete ACSC should receive an education in itself. It will argue that, to increase Army’s pool of highly competent professionals beyond what is already achieved through the full-time ACSC(J) course, the Australian Defence College should open its doors to a separate group of mid-ranking officers (Regular and Reserve).

The key requirement for meeting the wide and essentially unpredictable range of contingencies that could arise is a substantial pool of highly competent professionals—especially at the mid-levels of the Defence Force.

– Defence 2000: Our Future Defence Force¹

Introduction

In 2009 the Australian Department of Defence released ‘The Strategic Reform Program (SRP) 2009–Delivering Force 2030’. This reform aims to ‘comprehensively and fundamentally improve the supporting “backbone” of Defence, making the organisation more efficient and effective, and creating significant savings to reinvest in building a stronger Defence Force’.² Linked to SRP goals, there is an opportunity to improve and strengthen the professional cohort of mid-ranking Army officers (major-lieutenant colonel equivalent) in the Australian Defence Force (ADF). By recognising, for example, that only a small proportion (8%)³ of midranking Army officers can be selected, or are available, to attend and subsequently graduate from the Joint Australian Command and Staff College (ACSC(J)) each year, this leaves a pool of mid-ranking officers untrained in the higher order staff and command skill sets. Further, Army currently fills fifty to sixty Passed Staff Course (psc) major positions from non-qualified psc majors.⁴ Opportunities can therefore be developed from the existing part-time ACSC course to increase the vocational education for mid-ranking officers throughout the Army, address the shortfall in psc mid-ranking officers, and in so doing build a more skilled defence force.

A 2005 Defence inquiry into the Australian Defence Force Learning Culture ‘judged that the ADF is not a best-practice learning organisation at this stage, and that there is considerable room for improvement in investment in staff training and engagement.’⁵ Further analysis by Dr Nick Jans identified that ‘perhaps no better example of this exist[ed] than the situation at the Australian Defence College (ADC) at Weston Creek where, in an institution with the potential—if not the imperative—to be at the heart of ADF intellectual capability, the major courses [continued to be] run in accordance with an old-fashioned management/leadership paradigm focused too much on what is often essentially “training” rather than “education”‘.⁶ 

A 2005 Defence inquiry into the Australian Defence Force Learning Culture ‘judged that the ADF is not a best-practice learning organisation at this stage ...

Jans went on to argue that the Directing Staff were ‘essentially generalists, chosen on the basis of their operational experience and leadership’ and that while there are ‘obvious advantages in having staff with such qualities, this practice constrains their ability and opportunity to develop learning programs in which course members can be guided to make connections between professional activities and related disciplines such as law, politics, psychology, sociology, civil-military relations, and the like’; and that ‘all of this limits the ADF’s capacity to make intellectual capital a genuine element of capability’.⁷ Since 2005 the ADC enhanced its ACSC(J) program, including the introduction of the University of New South Wales as a key education provider (in 2006), in order to address the above concerns. However, Jans’ earlier analysis did not take into account the educational and professional pedigree of the mid-ranking Army officers who have either worked in civilian professions and/or acquired degrees and post graduate degrees from civilian-led universities. These officers could already demonstrate success with regards to the above mentioned ‘connections’. While the Joint Australian Command and Staff College (ACSC(J)) works hard to provide its officers with an education, the so called ‘old-fashioned management/leadership paradigm which focused too much on what is often essentially “training” rather than “education”‘ is arguably a better fit for a separate group of mid-ranking Army officer’s development requirements. For carefully selected officers an abridged part-time program may prove to be a highly appropriate Staff Course option. An existing part-time ACSC program, delivered to mid-ranking Army Reserve (ARES) officers (ACSC(R)), aims to satisfy what CDF (Air Chief Marshal Houston) seeks through the SRP in building a ‘Reserve force that is more mission focused’.⁸ Mission focus transcends the Army and, in the context of vocational Staff Course training, needs to remain at the forefront of all mid-ranking officers’ military education. What is therefore required is an alternative, mission-focused part-time staff training option for the mid-ranking officer (Regular and Reserve) who may not be eligible to attend the twelve-month full-time ACSC(J) course.

What is therefore required is an alternative, mission-focused part-time staff training option for the mid-ranking officer ...

This article identifies the opportunity, if not the necessity, for the Australian Defence College to offer a larger pool of mid-ranking Army officers a mission-focused part-time ACSC program. To do this the paper will assesses one of the current part-time ACSC options, the Army Reserve ACSC course (ACSC(R)), against its ability to build and develop the skills required of a mid-ranking ‘mission-focused’ officer. This analysis is Army focused; however, the concepts are applicable to a tri-service approach. This article will dispute the notion that all officers who complete ACSC should receive an education in itself. It will argue that to increase Army’s pool of highly competent professionals, beyond what is already achieved through the full-time ACSC(J) course, the ADC should open its doors to a separate group of mid-ranking officers. These officers would be drawn from across both the Regular and Reserve force spectrum and they would be offered a part-time ACSC alternative to ACSC(J). This alternative would not aim to replicate the ACSC(J) course but instead focus on professionally developing higher-order vocational military command and staff skills with an ‘increased emphasis on active skills development rather than passive knowledge acquisition’⁹ while simultaneously providing scope to draw on the officer’s existential connections between their formal education and professional activities.

Part-Time ACSC and the Skills Required of the Mid Ranking Officer - Looking at the ACSC(R) Example

If the mid-ranking Regular or Reserve officer is not selected, or available, to complete the twelve-month full-time ACSC(J) course and a part-time option is desired, this means the time available for an officer to build higher order command and staff competencies, and to maintain proficiency in the application of these competencies, must be balanced against his/her full-time occupational commitments. With regards to the ACSC(R) example, in preparing for operations, the mid-ranking ARES officer must be trained to acquire the same competencies for the job to be performed as their Regular counterpart. The end-state must be for the mid-ranking psc officer to possess the ‘knowledge skills and attitudes required for success on operations’.¹⁰

The current ACSC(R) course is a key enabler in preparing the mid-ranking ARES psc officer for the types of roles and responsibilities they are expected to perform. With regards to operations these roles and responsibilities vary from Task Force command through to staff officer positions on a Task Force headquarters. Common to all roles is the requirement for officers to operate in either a tri-service and/or multi-agency headquarters. A report on the external evaluation of the ACSC(R) course, published in June 2009,¹¹ outlined the main job functions for the employment of ARES lieutenant colonels as follows:

a. Command and lead personnel, and manage resources in a unit;

b. Perform the duties of a Grade One staff officer in a headquarters to include application of the Joint Military Appreciation Process (JMAP), analysis of information, prioritisation of work, directing and monitoring subordinates, written and oral communications, planning and conduct of training, and provision of general and corps specific advice to superiors;

c. Maintain currency of policy and doctrine in order to advise, plan, implement and assess training, optimising the use of technology and resources; and

d. Maintain expert knowledge of his/her parent corps doctrine and be able to provide advice to commanders and other staff officers on the effect of corps related matters.

It is anticipated that, for the future employment of all mid-ranking psc officers, the above listed roles and employment functions will remain an important subset. The imperative is that the mid-ranking psc officer is prepared so that they are competent, proficient and available to fill key psc positions including those mission-focused roles and responsibilities that are much needed for operations.

Looking at the Current Part-Time ASCS(R) Program - Does it Meet 'Mission Focus'?

The current part-time ACSC(R) course is broken down into three modularised blocks and delivered over twelve months. Course members complete the program via distance learning packages and by attending three residential training blocks of between one to two weeks’ duration. The combined total of training days allocated to complete the ACSC(R) course equates to eighty-one days.¹² All three modules are designed for graduates to be able to effectively fulfil command and staff appointments at the lieutenant colonel level in single service, joint and integrated units and headquarters. A brief synopsis of the part-time ACSC(R) program is provided below:¹³

a. Foundation Studies: The aim is to introduce course members to the essential elements of Critical Thinking, Communication and Strategic Studies.

b. Land Operations: The aim is to exercise and consolidate course members’ ability to contribute to the planning and synchronisation of land operations.

c. Command Leadership and Training: The aim is to examine a range of issues relating to the exercise of command and leadership and the delivery of training.

The learning outcomes achieved through the above ACSC(R) learning modules more-or-less mirror the ‘Foundation Studies’ and the ‘Land’ (Army single service) competencies delivered on the full-time ACSC(J) course. The litmus test for assessing the mission focus success of a part-time ACSC program can be found in the willingness for One and Two Star commanders across Army to seek out and employ part-time ACSC course graduates into key command and staff roles. With regard to the ACSC(R) course there is little evidence of a resounding increase in demand, beyond the 2nd Division, for ACSC(R) graduates to serve in operational headquarters. At this stage, mission focus is being achieved for the ACSC(R) program; however, it is being achieved on a narrow front.

... there is little evidence of a resounding increase in demand, beyond the 2nd Division, for ACSC(R) graduates to serve in operational headquarters.

The Need for a Broader Base of Course Members to Complete a Part-Time ACSC Option

The current operational tempo requires the Army to have mid-ranking psc officers serving on a number of headquarters in the Pacific and in the Middle East. The Army must also fill staff officer positions on a number of domestic based headquarters such as Forces Command, 1st Division, 2nd Division, and on the subordinate headquarters of Brigade formations. In addition, the Army must maintain the capacity to surge, in order to staff Joint/Combined Task Force Headquarters (J/CTF), for short lead-time domestic and overseas operations.¹⁴ So what should the alternative part-time ACSC program look like?

An opportunity exists to address both the shortage of psc majors and, more broadly, the lack of Army-wide demand for current part-time ACSC(R) graduates. This opportunity can be exploited through further development of the existing part-time ACSC option(s)¹⁵ so that a new part-time course reflects what the One and Two Star commanders seek (Regular and Reserve), and in so doing builds a larger pool of talent of mid-ranking officers. A starting point is to relinquish the Reserve ‘brand’ for the part-time course and to broaden the base of part-time course members by extending an alternative ACSC opportunity to the wider Army (Regular and Reserve).¹⁶ This will provide for more mid-ranking staff and command trained officers. We must therefore look to develop a suitable adjunct to the full-time ACSC(J) course that is able to achieve the best vocational outcomes, with the least amount of time and resources, thereby achieving SRP outcomes.

An opportunity exists to address both the shortage of psc majors and, more broadly, the lack of Army-wide demand for current part-time ACSC(R) graduates.

The Scheyville-Esq ACSC Model

During the 1960s and 1970s the National Service Officer Training Unit at Scheyville graduated junior Army officers and deployed many of these graduates as Rifle Platoon Commanders to the highly dangerous and complex warfighting environment of Vietnam. The Scheyville program lasted twenty-one weeks, which compares with the then forty-four-week Officer Cadet School – Portsea program, or the four-year Royal Military College – Duntroon program. While it is understood that the Scheyville program was designed for junior officers, the analogy can be made that a high tempo mission-focused vocational military skills regime can be just as relevant to many of the experienced midranking officers of today. What is required in order to achieve mission focus for a broader base of mid-ranking officers is an alternate Scheyville-esq part-time ACSC model.

Carnes and Holloway in their article ‘Practice Makes Perfect - Army Simulation Wing and Mission Specific Training’ recognised ‘that the application of simulation is a key enabler in enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency in the conduct of training, and supports the adaptation required to maximise performance on operations’.¹⁷ Using this approach in the conduct of the alternate Scheyville-esq ACSC model will maximise the ‘bang for the buck’ required, particularly when time and other resources are scarce. The Scheyville-esq ACSC model will need a balance of highly effective distance learning packages along with mission-focused residential based simulation activities. All learning packages must make maximum use of the latest technologies, particularly those relating to eLearning and simulation. The program must be designed to take into account the fact that its attendees must balance completing the program against full-time work responsibilities (Regular officers have their full-time work commitments while Reserve officers have civilian employment commitments).

All learning packages must make maximum use of the latest technologies, particularly those relating to eLearning and simulation.

Getting the Balance Right - What Should the Part-Time Course Achieve and Who Should be Selected?

The goal of a part-time ACSC course must be to elevate the standard of a mid-ranking officers’ performance. The part-time psc graduate, when working in demanding staff appointments, will be able to produce higher quality work, and greater volumes of this work, than a non-psc mid-ranking officer would otherwise be expected to achieve over the same period of time. The ACSC approach to learning is outlined below. This approach would be maintained in the conduct of a part-time course:

Course members are expected to assimilate knowledge then utilise critical thinking skills to create innovative solutions to complex problems. Graduates of ACSC will have the ability to analyse and evaluate opinion, to weigh and assess evidence dispassionately, to build a case for decision making from many sources and to tolerate and accommodate diverse viewpoints. The capacity to effectively communicate resultant arguments and conclusions is also fostered. Graduates will embrace uncertainty and display flexibility in their approach to novel and unresolved situations. Graduates will have developed robust leadership, command, critical thinking and communication skills in order to better meet the challenges of our profession.¹⁸

Group Captain Prencel, the Director of Studies for Air Force (DOS-A) at ACSC in 2010, noted that the existing ACSC(J) course ‘could be reduced by half if either the electives and/or single service elements were removed, or all modules were significantly remodelled’.¹⁹ The intent is not to replicate the ACSC(J) course, but instead to raise a new, and shorter, Scheyville-esq part-time option. The total full-time equivalent (FTE) course length of the part-time course could therefore be reduced to a Scheyville-esq length of four to five months (twenty-one weeks). The part-time ACSC course would need to be divided into modules to be taught and assessed through the latest distance and residential based learning methods. As a result of creating a significantly shorter ACSC option, the Australian Defence College would need to focus the course member’s learning on vocational education and skills development.

As a result of creating a significantly shorter ACSC option, the Australian Defence College would need to focus the course member’s learning on vocational education and skills development.

The skill set or outcomes to be developed into the part-time ACSC course, which will enhance the career performance of the mid-ranking officer, can be drawn from the existing ACSC(J) and ACSC(R) course programs. Throughout the conduct of the part-time course, the learning programs would guide course members to make connections between their professional military activities and their personal experience of related disciplines such as law, politics, psychology, sociology and civil-military relations. By way of an example or template, the part-time course would be modularised, with key learning outcomes drawn from the following headings, and allocated the appropriate amount of time. The full-time equivalent provided below totals twenty-one weeks.²⁰

a. Critical thinking (28 days FTE),

b. Communication, written and verbal (35 days FTE),

c. Operational planning (42 days FTE),

d. Command, Leadership and Management (28 days FTE), and

e. The application of information communication technologies as used on domestic and overseas operational headquarters (14 days FTE).

The part-time ACSC course could be completed by a course member, like a post graduate study program, over a period of eighteen to twenty-four months. Selection for this course should be competitive but open to mid-level officer applicants who wish to seek out professional development opportunities. The benefit to the individual and to the Army should be ‘win-win’; the Army would be better placed to address its shortfall in psc mid-ranking officers while the applicant would be able to achieve a psc qualification they might not have otherwise been able to achieve, and in so doing improve their chances for future promotion consideration.

Conclusion

The implied task from SRP goals is to make the Australian Command and Staff College more ‘efficient and effective’ and in so doing create significant savings to ‘reinvest in building a stronger Defence Force’.²¹ This reinvestment can be demonstrated through the development of an alternative part-time staff course option which would provide an increased pool of psc mid-ranking officers without the resource burden of attempting to replicate the existing full-time ACSC(J) course. To get the investment balance right, the Australian Defence College needs a part-time ACSC option which is vocationally focused while simultaneously providing scope to draw on the officer’s existential connections between their formal education and professional activities. The part-time nature of the alternate staff course will enable the participating member to continue to fulfil their employment obligations thereby enabling greater efficiencies. The overall return on investment in a part-time ACSC course will be recognised through the graduation of mid-ranking psc officers who will be able to produce higher quality work, and greater volumes of this work, than a non-psc mid-ranking officer would otherwise be expected to achieve over the same period of time.

About the Author

Lieutenant Colonel Sean L’Estrange is an Infantry officer who recently served as a Directing Staff member at the Australian Command and Staff College – Canberra (2009–10). He is a graduate of the Joint Australian Command and Staff College (2006) and is a former Commanding Officer of 16RWAR (2007–08). His overseas service includes a Commonwealth Attachment to the British Army (1992) and Active Service as the JTF633-A Operations Analyst deployed to Tarin Kot, Afghanistan, in direct support of MRTF-2 and MTF-1 (2009–10). He holds a Bachelor of Education, Masters in Educational Leadership, Graduate Diploma in Resource Management, and a Graduate Diploma in Management (Defence). He is currently posted as SO1 to the Director Army Reserve Training at RMC Duntroon.

Endnotes

1    Defence 2000: Our Future Defence Force, Department of Defence, Canberra, 2000, p. 61.

2    The Strategic Reform Program 2009 - Delivering Force 2030, Department of Defence, Canberra, 2009, p. 5.

3    Directorate of Officer Career Management – Army (DOCM-A). Draft figures: 60–70 (plus ten from overseas nations) officers are selected from a pool of 650–700 majors (i.e. all first to sixth year majors) per year. At the first cut, this pool is reduced to approximately 170–180 (approximately three times as many of the Staff College placements).

4    Directorate of Officer Career Management – Army (DOCM-A). Draft figures: DOCM-A manage approximately 200 psc majors per year of which 60 will be at Staff College, 60–70 will be promoted to lieutenant colonel, leaving 70–80 to fill 128 psc major positions. This leaves a delta of approximately 50–60 positions having to be filled by non-psc majors. This delta can be even larger when some long time psc majors seek out less demanding appointments and deselect themselves from psc positions.

21  The Strategic Reform Program 2009 – Delivering Force 2030, p. 5.