NINETEEN officers of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) have completed the 18-week Senior Command and Staff Course Number Twenty (SCSC #20), strengthening the Force’s pool of officers prepared to assume higher command and staff responsibilities.
The course forms part of the GDF’s continued investment in professional military education, and focused on developing competencies in command, leadership, analytical decision-making and staff work. Officers received instruction in operational planning, military law, ethics, capability planning, and global security studies, supported by practical exercises, research and field training.
SCSC #20 also included the Scenario-Based, Risk-Informed Capability Planning for National Security and Resilience programme, marking the first collaboration between the National Defence Institute (NDI) and the University of Guyana in this area.
The initiative broadened the officers’ understanding of national security challenges, encouraging them to consider issues beyond the tactical and operational levels, and to examine the wider strategic factors affecting national resilience.
Addressing the closing ceremony, Chief of Defence Staff Brigadier Omar Khan, MSS, described the completion of the course as one of several defining moments in the officers’ military careers.
He said SCSC #20 represented a deliberate investment in the future leadership of the Guyana Defence Force, having challenged the officers technically, tested their judgement, and broadened their perspectives.
However, Brigadier Khan reminded the graduates that professional advancement would bring increased expectations.
“Leadership is not a noun; leadership is a verb,” he said. “Leadership is action before it becomes authority; it is influence before it becomes position. It is responsibility before it becomes privilege.”
The Chief of Defence Staff urged the officers to measure their careers not solely by rank or personal achievement, but by their contribution to the institution and the nation, as well as their ability to lead and develop those entrusted to their command.
At the conclusion of the programme, Captain Keevin Salaru was named Best Graduating Student of SCSC #20, earning the course’s highest overall award.
Captain Stacey Codogan was named Runner-Up Student, and also received the award for Best Research Paper for her study, Climate Change and National Security in Guyana: Assessing Strategic Risks and Policy Implications.
The research examined climate change as an emerging national security challenge, and proposed strategic policy recommendations aimed at strengthening national resilience and institutional preparedness.
The successful completion of SCSC #20 further contributes to the GDF’s senior leadership capacity by equipping officers to operate in increasingly complex operational and strategic environments.
The programme also reinforces the Force’s commitment to professional military education as a foundation for effective command, sound decision-making and institutional resilience.
Among those attending the closing ceremony were the Colonel-General’s Staff, other branch heads, and senior officers of the Guyana Defence Force, along with Director of the National Defence Institute Dr. Randy Persaud.
