Dates: 1997 -
Joint Services Command and Staff College (JSCSC) is a British military academic establishment providing training and education to experienced officers of the Royal Navy, Army, Royal Air Force, Ministry of Defence Civil Service and serving Officers of other states.
JSCSC combined the single service provision of the British Armed Forces; Royal Naval College, Greenwich, Staff College, Camberley, RAF Staff College, Bracknell and the Joint Service Defence College, Greenwich. Initially formed at Bracknell in 1997 the college moved to a purpose built facility in the grounds of the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom at Watchfield, near Shrivenham and co-located with the Defence College of Management and Technology.
The Joint Services Command and Staff College (JSCSC) trains the future commanders and staff officers of all three UK Armed Services and those of many countries around the world, supporting the operational effectiveness of all three Services.
JSCSC is a component of the Defence Academy and the Commandant is a full member of the DA Management Board, reporting to the Director of the Defence Academy. The Commandant is a two-star appointment (Rear Admiral,Major General or Air Vice-Marshal) and can be filled by candidates from each of the three services. Within JSCSC itself each service is represented by a one-star Assistant Commandant (Maritime, Land, and Air), each with responsibility for both single service issues and delivery of training. The Dean of Academic Studies, Professor Matthew Uttley, leads King’s College London’s Defence Studies Department, which provides theoretical and conceptual academic education in partnership with the military directing staff.
The college crest features a cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo), a symbol of all three armed services; Britain’s largest seabird flies, swims on the sea surface and catches its fish underwater, yet builds its nest on dry land (either on cliffs or in riverside trees). The Cormorant was derived from the symbol of the Joint Service Defence College.
The Alumni Association of the college, open to graduates of the Higher Command and Staff Course, the Advanced Command and Staff Course and staff, is named the Cormorant club.
JSCSC is located in a purpose built complex comprising accommodation and teaching wings operated under a thirty year Public Private Partnership arrangement with Serco Defence and Aerospace.
Teaching facilities include 8 fully equipped lecture theares and 59 syndicate rooms, all students are provided with laptop computers with access throughout the college. Lectures from the Cormorant lecture theatre, seating 450, can be displayed in all other theatres. The college houses one of the largest military libraries in Europe.
All courses are residential with single, en-suite, cabins although students on the Advanced Command and Staff Course have the opportunity to use a Married Quarter within Shrivenham station.
Sports facilities include a gymnasium within the complex and access to rugby, football, cricket and hockey pitches, tennis and squash courts which are shared with DCMT.
