The Guyana Defence Force (GDF) says it expects to benefit from enhanced command and staff functions after senior and junior officers completed training courses at the Jaguar Lecture Hall, last Friday.
In a press release, the army said one major and 19 captains completed the Senior Command and Staff Course number 11 (SCSC# 11), with Captain Sheldon Howell, of the 31 Special Forces Unit, emerging the Best Graduating Student. Captain Joslyn Assanah, of Air Corps, took runner-up honours and Major Hollice Cumberbatch gained the award for producing the Course’s Best Service Paper, it added.
In addition, nine lieutenants completed Junior Command and Staff Course number 23 (JCSC# 23), where Lieutenant Budeshwar Persaud, of the First Infantry Battalion, emerged as the Best Graduating Student and Lieutenant Damon Joseph, of Air Corps, copped the runner-up position and the award for writing the course’s Best Service Essay.
In recalling the challenges of the course, Lieutenants Persaud and Joseph cited the volume of reading required, particularly in light of the time frame given to complete it as well as the assignments and other activities. “They noted that the learning environment necessitated reliance on peers which was good for sustaining morale, and both acknowledged that the training has enhanced their capacity to be better officers and strengthen their contributions to the force,” the GDF said.
At the closing ceremony, army Chief-of-Staff Commodore Gary Best encouraged the graduates to remember that training is an ongoing process and to “transition from students to effective leaders.”
“You must be leaders in and out of the work environment,” he charged, while urging them to be confident and to lead with passion.
According to the release, the SCSC—the higher level course—was designed to produce officers who can function in command and staff appointments; perform as Grade 2 Staff Officers at brigade or unit headquarters level, or perform as commanders of a battalion or equivalent unit in the conduct of full spectrum operations in the contemporary operating environment in the GDF.
It also said that the functions of these officers who operate at a level between the GDF’s high command and the junior officers, Senior Non-Commissioned Officers and soldiers, are therefore critical to the implementation and support of policies meant to drive objective-realisation in every sphere of the force. “The JCSC is designed to train officers to function as Junior Comman-ders and Junior Staff Officers, perform as Unit Commanders of a Company or perform as Grade 3 Staff Officers at battalion level or equivalent sub-unit,” the release said.
Training was done at Base Camp Stephenson.
