INSPECTOR General Colonel Trevor Bowman, on Friday, declared open the Junior Command and Staff Course (JCSC) 28 and the Senior Leaders Course (SLC) 8 at the Jaguar Lecture Hall, Base Camp Stephenson Timehri.

The JCSC, which is of 12 weeks duration, is currently in its fifth week of training and is intended to train officers to function as Junior Commanders and Junior Staff Officers across the full spectrum of military operations.

According to the GDF, it also enables the young officers to perform as second-in-command of a company or equivalent in the in the contemporary operating environment. Subject areas covered on this course include minor staff duties/operational staff work, information technology, communication skills studies, military history and environmental studies. Sixteen young officers are undergoing training on the JCSC.

The SLC is the highest level of training for Senior Non-Commissioned Officers and is designed to prepare them for the appointment of Department Sergeant Majors for the various units, with administrative and welfare responsibility for ranks of the Force.

Fifteen Senior Non-Commissioned Officers are undergoing training on this course.
In his address to the students of both courses, the Inspector General urged that they have an eye for detail, a prerequisite for service at the senior level. Colonel Bowman also told the students that they are the custodians of rich military history, formats and practices, and they must consider this as an honour.
Further, he said that the GDF is set to see major changes administratively and that they were the future leaders of this transformation. He encouraged them to be dedicated to the task ahead and to graduate successfully.