The Joint Command and Staff College (JCSC) is one of the colleges of the UAE armed forces that specialize in teaching the art of war in general and the operational art in particular. The JCSC combines theory and practice as a basis for its instructional methodology and aims to develop leadership qualities in the students. The JCSC contributes to forming the concept of employment for the armed forces in joint operations and military operations in peacetime, such as peacekeeping and peace support operations.
Historical background
On September 28, 1991, the UAE Federal Decree Law No. 9 was issued, founding the JCSC as the highest military college in the country, to handle the responsibility of preparing select officers to occupy command positions in the headquarters and units of the armed forces. On October 15, 1991, the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces decided on the Statute of the JCSC.
Inauguration
His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces inaugurated the JCSC on Monday, January 20, 1992. In 1994, the Chief of Staff of the UAE Armed Forces issued a decree turning all the courses held at the college from general command and staff courses to joint command and staff courses, effective from Course 8, and the curricula were modified to joint curricula to serve all services of the Armed Forces.
College mission and objectives
Qualifying officers to occupy command and staff positions in accordance with instructional curricula that keep up with military knowledge. Increasing and reinforcing the fields of national, international, and Islamic studies. Instilling research, analysis, and reasoning skills. Developing capabilities in planning, coordination and teamwork. Enriching the instructional process with meetings with higher civil and military leaders who have exceptional academic and military experience.
Admission and study
Instruction in the JCSC is no longer limited to military sciences, exclusive to qualifying staff officers; it goes beyond that to holding courses in strategic planning. In addition, the curricula of the Joint Command and Staff courses were developed to meet the requirements of educational accreditation to enable participants to receive bachelor's degrees in Management and Military Sciences and master's degrees in Human Resource Management and through affiliation with Abu Dhabi University.
Courses
The college regularly holds several courses based on directives issued by the GHQ of the Armed Forces: