Draft

Report of the 7th African Conference of Commandants of Commandants, (ACoC)

17- 19February 2014

Johannesburg, South Africa

1. Introduction

The Conflict Management and Peacebuilding Division (CMPB), of the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), Pretoria, served as the Secretariat for the 7th African Conference of Commandants (ACoC) from 17 to 19 February 2014. The Johannesburg event was the sixth coverage of the event since the nomination of the ISS by the commandants of Command and Staff Colleges who attended the Accra conference in October 2008. The conference takes place once a year to discuss a myriad of issues in the realm of military education. To this end, ACoC aims to enhance military professionalism in Africa through Education, Training and Development of Officers in African Staff Colleges. The Institute for Security Studies (ISS) and the British Peace Support Team-South Africa (BPST-SA) co-hosted the 2014 meeting under the theme ‘Quo Vadis? – Military Leadership Development in Africa.’

The Conference washeld at the OR Tambo Southern Sun Hotel and was attended by: Command and Staff College, Nigeria(Chair); Command and Staff College, Libya (in-coming Chair); Command and Staff College, Botswana (outgoing Chair); Staff College, Cameroon; Command and Staff College, Egypt; Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Ghana; Staff College, Ivory Coast;Defence Staff College, Kenya;Command and Staff College, Namibia; Command and Staff College, Malawi; Senior Command and Staff College, Uganda; Defence Services Command and Staff College, Zambia;Other institutions represented were the National Defence College, Kenya; National Defence College, Nigeria; Command and General Staff College, US; AFRICOM, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) andDefence Attaches from Botswana, Egypt and Kenya.

The Conference was held in South Africa following its postponement from Libya in November 2013, due to security conditions prevailing in that country at the time.Following adoption of the agenda and feedback on the annual report by the ACoC Secretariat and ACoC Chair, the Conference proceeded as per the program (see Annex A). The conference discussed identified topics of crucial importance to officer development under the sub-themes /presentations:

  1. SADC Combined Joint African Exercise (CJAX Feedback)
  2. Presentation by UK on Leadership development
  3. Presentation by Egypt on Leadership development and evaluation of students
  4. Presentation by US Army on Leadership development, selection and evaluation of directing staff
  5. The selection and further development of Directing Staff, Nigeria
  6. Life-long learning process
  7. Inclusion of higher colleges in the Conference

The Conference alsodiscussed specific issuesunderfour Thinking Platforms, (TP).The idea of the TPs was to allow for lateral thinking in the challenges that colleges face and to encourage creativity in proposing solutions. Due to time constraints, the all the TPs were discussed in plenary and chaired by Nigeria. All the discussions from the three-day meeting are encapsulated in the 7th ACoC Decisions drafted by the Secretariat. These are attached in the appendices.

2. SADC CJAX Feedback, Brig Gen Henry Nyundu, Commandant, Defence Services Command and Staff College, (DSCSC), Zambia

Brig Gen Nyundu provided feedback concerning the SADC CJAX 2013.The Combined Joint African Exercise (CJAX), codenamed Ex UHURU was conducted from 26 to 31 August 2013 within the Southern African Development Community on behalf of the African Union and ACoC in the three Staff Colleges of South Africa, Botswana and Zambia. CJAX 2013 saw increased participation with the inclusion of the Malawi Armed Forces College (MAFCO) who sent delegations of two (02) Students to the three colleges where Ex UHURU took place. External participants also particated for instance the ICRC, Police Service, Correctional services and various NGOs. The Media Team was drawn from the services and local media institutions. Libya and Namibia participated by sending Directing Staff as observers. It is a UK sponsored initiative through the BPST-SA, which is based at the South African War College (SANWC) to encourage synergy and common working practices between SADC Staff Colleges. The Zambia Defence Services Command and Staff College took over as the coordinating authority in 2012 and coordinated the 2013 exercise.

This exercise was executed by concurrently running the same PSO planning exercise in South Africa, Botswana and Zambia, and involved an exchange of one (01) Directing Staff and four (04) Students between participating Command and Staff Colleges. The aim of CJAX 2013 was to train at the operational level in a joint, Multinational and Interagency environment in order to promote synergy between SADC Command and Staff Colleges, and develop a better understanding of the challenges involved in planning and coordinating a complex, multinational PSO.

The objectives of CJAX 2013 were as follows:

a)Enhance student knowledge on the full range of Combined and Joint Operations Planning

b)Practice operational level planning using UN IMPP and the doctrine of ASF Military, Police and Civilian Components

c)Improve students’ ability and working skills in an interagency and international environment

d)Address developments in African Security and Defence policy

The BPST sponsored the following aspects of CJAX:

  • Travel and accommodation costs for members of the CJAX Work Group during the planning sessions (MPC and FPC)
  • Travel and accommodation costs for external resource persons during the planning sessions and the exercise
  • Acting as the secretariat for the CJAX Work Group, organized the MPC and FPC including the production of minutes of various meetings

During the exercise, the BPST also provided one (01) Exercise Facilitator per participating College whose responsibilities were as follows:

  • Provide advice to the Directing Staff on the execution of EX UHURU
  • Deliver the central presentations including introducing Ex UHURU and each problem.
  • Ensure commonality of approach across each college
  • Co-ordinate debriefs and capture lessons identified across each college
  • Pay costs of visiting UN agencies/NGOs participating in the exercise
  • Provide the main parts of the exercise paperwork (Ex Instructors, scenario, whites and pinks)

Each participating College had the following responsibilities:

  1. Provide an Exercise Director
  2. Coordinate all administrative activities associated with CJAX within their nation such as:
  • In country transport to/from airports for own/visiting delegations, food and accommodation
  • All cultural and social activities
  • Organise Civilian Police, Civilian PSO Practitioner and local NGOs participation.
  • Organise resources for the media problem

In terms of the CJAX 2013 academic concept and relevance, the exercise utilised the Integrated Mission Planning Process (IMPP). The concept of IMPP within UN PSO has received new focus since the endorsement of the UN IMP Guidelines by the UN Secretary General (13 June 2006). The Draft African Standby Force (ASF) Doctrine Handbook (Chapter 7), and the draft AU Planning and Decision Making Aide Memoire (dated Nov 2009), now also encompasses “The Planning of Multi-Dimensional Peace Support Operations” which has been drawn extensively on the existing IMP Guidelines. It is for this reason that the key aspects of IMP for either UN or AU Peace Support Operations are considered a most relevant subject for study at operational level. The AU PSOD approved the reproduction of the draft AU planning and Decision Making Aide Memoire as a teaching tool for the SADC CJAX.

IMPP Utility: Officers who are deployed to UN or AU Mission HQs’, ASF Regional Bde HQs or ASF Regional Planning Elements (PLANELMs) are now likely to encounter the IMPP. It is therefore key that potential Staff Officers and Commanders have a basic understanding of the concept and operational level staff processes of IMPP. The staff planning involved in Ex UHURU is pitched at the level of an Integrated Mission Planning Team (IMPT) as this is the most potentially relevant level that Command and Staff College graduates would be exposed to as staff officers within an AU/ASF/Regional PLANELM environment.

The Carana Scenario: In meeting the requirement mentioned above, a fictitious scenario called “The Carana Scenario” was used as a medium to expose the students to the IMPP. The Carana Scenario was originally developed by the Pearson Peacekeeping Centre (Canada) in conjunction with the Kofi Annan International Peace Training Centre (KAIPTC), but has been further developed to suit the requirements of Ex UHURU. It was revised in 2009 to incorporate a Regional Economic Community known as the Economic Community of KISIWA (ECOK) and improved mapping. The AU PSOD in the AMANI AFRICA series of exercises approved the scenario. The revised Carana scenario is based on an AU Mission in the fictional country of Carana, rather than a purely UN operation. The revised Carana Scenario supports CJAX with a wealth of realistic, detailed and relevant strategic level staff work, from which the students develop their staff solutions at the operational level.

The CJAX Concept had 2 phases:

a.Preparation Phase: This was comprised of a foundation PSO package which was similar in all Colleges, a train the trainer seminar for directing staff and two (02) planning sessions, that is, the Main Planning Conference (MPC) and Final Planning Conference (FPC). CJAX 2013 was enhanced with the addition of Civilian Component Road shows in all the exercise centres, to brief the students on key roles in the Police and Civilian Components.

b.Ex UHURU (26-31 Aug 13):This was comprised of a PSO planning exercise concurrently executed in all participating Colleges for one (01) week. Ex UHURU included an exchange of one (01) DS and four (04) students between the three participating Colleges. Additionally for 2013, Malawian delegations comprising two (02) students and Namibian DS participated. The colleges also had one police officer per syndicate acting as police planner.

The CJAXCoordinating Authority works on a rotational basis among the participating colleges for a period of two years with the Chairperson of the CJAX Work Group being the Chief Instructor of the college.The South African National War College acted as the Coordinating Authority for CJAX for 2010 and 2011. Zambia was the Coordinating Authority for CJAX 2012 and 2013 and will be handing over to Botswana Defence Command and Staff College for 2014 and 2015.

The international travel plans of the visiting delegates went well. Accommodation arrangements for visiting delegates were adequate and there were no problems in 2013 regarding reciprocal arrangements for Directing Staff. Zimbabwe was supposed to send Directing Staff as observers but could not make it due to other commitments. Brig Gen Nyundu recommended that Zimbabwe Staff College fully participate in future CJAX. The CJAX Cultural Day was also great success with the visiting delegates being shown a number of cultural attractions. Understanding the cultural context of the host nation is very important and this aspect must be encouraged. Social function was organised at the end of the Ex with the cocktail at all the colleges.A VVIP plan for senior external and local persons coming to visit the college during CJAX was a good way of publicizing EX UHURU. The DSCSC hosted the incoming ACoC Chair Brig Gen Ali Abdul Jalil Omar Eltief, Commandant Libya Staff College. The DCSC, Botswana hosted Major General Daniel Frazgo, Commandant Mozambique High Institute of Defence Studies.

Building on the successes of the past three years, CJAX has become one of the most important exercises in the SADC Colleges’ Curriculums. Not only does it develop a greater understanding of the Joint, Multinational and Interagency environment in order to promote a better understanding of the challenges involved in planning and coordinating a complex, multinational PSO, but also serves to exchange ideas and concepts between SADC Command and Staff Colleges, and forge professional and social links within the AU. It is evident that the exercise has taken on a profile far beyond any usual routine Command and Staff College activity. The CJAX 2013 yielded better standards compared to previous exercises and took the output to new levels of achievement.

3. Leadership Development – The UK Approach, Brigadier Ian Huntley, Head, Centre for Defence Leadership and Management, Defence Academy, Wiltshire, UK

Brigadier Huntley’s presentation centred on the UK’s approach to officer leadership development and training and what the Centre for Defence Leadership and Management does in this regard. He explained that the Centre is the UK’s lead institution on leadership development for UK officer’s leadership education and training. The Centre, which trains about 500 officers a year, was established to design an overarching policy framework and strategies for managerial and leadership development. Amongst others, the Centre undertakes research, establishes links with relevant organisations, public and private, sets standards and provides a reservoir of knowledge on leadership, including training and development opportunities and best practices; provides a gateway for obtaining information on external developments and enables those outside the Ministry of Defence to make use of the Centre’s knowledge and expertise, acting as a central focus for contact with external suppliers; and also provides training and coaching in management and leadership, particularly for staff at the more senior levels, by organising or facilitating short courses, training modules and seminars, drawing on the best expertise available externally or internally.

The Centre has also defined the concepts of command, leadership and management, and has developed a leadership model using the Defence Leadership Framework (DLF). The DLF does not replace the leadership models in use by the UK’s single service training and education establishments, but it is rather complementary, as the single service models have been mapped to the DLF model. The DLF therefore serves as a ‘Rosetta Stone’ as it provides a clear indication of the single service’s fit on leadership within ‘Unified Defence’ from the highest levels down. The Centre defines the concepts as follows:

Leadership is visionary. It is the projection of personality and character to inspire the team to achieve the desired outcome. There is no prescription for leadership and no prescribed style of leader. Leadership is a combination of example, persuasion and compulsion dependent on the situation. It should aim to transform and be underpinned by individual skills and an enabling ethos. The successful leader is an individual who understands himself or herself, the organisation, the environment in which they operate and the people that they are privileged to lead.

Command is a position of authority and responsibility to which military men and women are legally appointed. Leadership and management are the key components of the successful exercise of command. Successful management is readily measured against objective criteria but commanders are not leaders until their position has been ratified in the hearts and minds of those they command.

Management is a facet of command. It is about the allocation and control of resources (human, materiel and financial) to achieve objectives. Management requires the capability to deploy a range of techniques and skills to enhance and facilitate the planning, organisation and execution of the business of defence. A successful manager combines these skills with those of leadership. A manager with the style of management most suited to the circumstances is the most successful (a leader/manager).

Brigadier Huntley also elaborated on the relationship between the three concepts. Thus, leadership is about people and turbulence and is essentially an art. Management is about staff numbers and is principally a science. But, one cannot be a successful commander without balancing leadership and management. Positional power of the leader – conferred on him by the authority vested in command allows transactional leadership when the context is relatively stable. However, what is more important is the transformational space, which relies on personal power and which comes to the fore when the context changes or the paradigm alters. Brigadier Huntley explained the journey of the UK officer’s leadership education, which begins with Initial Officer Training, Junior Officer’s Leadership Package, Advanced Command and Staff College, Higher Command and Staff Course and Defence Strategic Leadership Programme, and finally culminates in the Royal Defence Studies. He also elaborated on the different theories of leadership (great man theory, trait theory, functional leadership, etc.). However, he emphasised that leadership development is a continuum – a journey – and the ideal leadership style has the following characteristics:

Visionary – when a new vision is required

•Coaching –connects personal needs with organisational goals

•Affiliative – to heal rifts in the team: people come first

•Democratic – to build buy–in: get valuable input

•Pacesetting – lead by example

•Commanding – in a crisis: to kick-start a turnaround

Brigadier Huntley cautioned against the attributes of toxic leadership (defined in the US Army War College Class of 2003), which is explained as follows: “Destructive leaders are focused on short-term mission accomplishment. They provide superiors with impressive articulate presentations and enthusiastic responses to missions. But they are unconcerned about, or oblivious to, staff or troop morale and/or climate. They are seen as self serving.”

4. Developing the Art of Leadership in the Egyptian Command and Staff College, Major General Abdelmageed A. Saker, Commandant, Command and Staff College, Egypt

Major General Saker began his remarks with a historical overview of the Egyptian Armed Forces, which was established in the beginning of the 19th century in the era of Mohamed Ali Pasha. It was also during this period that the Command and Staff College where the art of leadership was a key educational subject was established. Since the 23rd of July 1952 Revolution led by the Gamal Abdel Nasser, the Egyptian Armed Forces has been responsible for safeguarding the achievements of the revolution and working as a pillar in enacting the Egyptian role at the international domain, especially with both the Arab and African engagements.