Defence technology and training support company, MASS, has successfully developed and supported the delivery of the Advanced Command and Staff Course (ACSC) ‘Ends’ Module Capstone Exercise.
The ACSC, which runs for 44 weeks, focuses on ‘Ends’, ‘Ways’ and ‘Means’ Modules and aims to help participants develop the skills necessary to solve the complex defence and security problems they will experience as they progress through their careers. The ‘Ends’ module explores how policy and strategy is formulated and executed from a practitioner’s perspective.
MASS Training Support Consultants design and help deliver a week-long exercise to test the participants’ understanding of the ‘Ends’ module, looking specifically at strategy and higher level policy formation. The exercise also helps deepen participants’ understanding of cross-government working at the national strategic level.
The exercise is set in the real world (as opposed to a fictitious scenario) in a security environment that throws up a wide range of issues extending beyond the traditional confines of defence and security to initiate exercise game play. The direction of the exercise is generally determined by the actions of the participants, who may be guided and lightly steered by exercise staff, in line with the Module’s objectives. The hallmark of the exercise is that it is managed not choreographed.
MASS Managing Director, Chris Stanley said: “This exercise provides participants the opportunity to use the tools they have learned during the course and apply them to a real world situation. Therefore, it is important that the experience is as realistic and immersive as possible. To ensure this, we produced a range of supporting material including departmental and country briefs, Wiki-pages, national and strategic digests, of which encourage participants to think strategically about the situation and work collaboratively to solve the problem at hand.”
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ACSC Advanced Command and Staff Course MASS
Post written by: Matt Brown
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