The Past
As far as the history is concerned, the Junior Command and Staff College runs with a contemporary history. It has just completed 22 years since its inception in the year 1999. However, the magnitude of the success of the College could not be measured by the length of time it has existed, but by its impact. Therefore, it is worthy of having a fascinating glimpse into how it has been evolved over these years.
The importance of training in Defence Forces not to be over emphasized. In this context, Sri Lanka Air Force has identified this necessity of conducting training at all levels, most importantly for its middle level Officers right from their formative stage. As there was no proper training establishment geared to take up this challenge, the organization sent only few Officers periodically to follow Junior Command and Staff Training in foreign countries depending on the availability of placements. However, it was found that most of their training modules were not as relevant to our context as the training needs were focused on their national security demands. This highlighted the importance of having our own staff training institution within the Air Force. Subsequent to a feasibility study carried out by the Air Force Board of Management under the directions of then Commander, Air Marshal Jayalath Weerakkody, the Junior Command and Staff College was established in March 1999 at SLAF Academy China Bay, with a view to impart Command, Staff, Leadership and Management training to middle level Officers of the Air Force. These disciplines need to be developed among the Junior Officers to keep abreast of the rapid expansion of the service and to maintain its operational efficiency and readiness. The fact that this College caters to other services namely Sri Lanka Army and Sri Lanka Navy explicitly shows the importance of this College and the esteemed position it occupies in military education arena of our country. Therefore, it is essential that the in-house service training offered at this College for military officers at middle level deserves recognition commensurate with their rank and service. Starting merely with 10 Students since its inception, the residential student capacity has been increased up to 31 in today’s context.
The Junior Command and Staff College recognizes the need for close collaboration with the civil and service intellectuals /resource personnel both in teaching and research work. This College has already developed links with a number of state and private Organizations and Universities who have provided both students and Directing Staff with a window to the developing trends and techniques in the field of Management. In this regard the Student Officers will be exposed to the current management practices of leading public and private sector establishments during their organized course visits.
Taking all the aforementioned aspects into consideration, the Junior Command and Staff College of Sri Lanka Air Force had previously been affiliated to the University of Kelaniya from 2006 and at present it is affiliated to Kothalawala Defence University to award a Post Graduate Diploma in keeping in par with the University evaluation criteria.