CGSC 2017 academic year kicks off with International Flag Ceremony

The U.S. Army Command and General Staff College kicked off the 2016-2017 academic year with the traditional International Flag Ceremony for Command and General Staff Officer’s Course 2017 at 9:30 a.m. on Aug. 8 at Fort Leavenworth’s Lewis and Clark Center. The ceremony featured posting of the colors of all the nations represented by students attending this year’s class. Brig. Gen. John S. Kem, Provost of the Army University and Deputy Commandant of CGSC, was the host.

The 112 international student delegation representing 86 countries is the largest to attend the class for mid-career officers since the college moved to its current location in 2007. It also features the largest number of women international officers with Bangladesh, Uganda, Mongolia, and Trinidad and Tobago sending women officers to the class. International military education began at Fort Leavenworth in 1894. Since then, more than 8,000 international officers from 164 countries have attended classes alongside their United States counterparts.

International students from CGSC have been extremely successful in their military careers. Nearly half of the international students who graduate from the course go on to achieve general officer rank. The college’s International Hall of Fame includes 262 international officers from 71 countries who have achieved the position of Chief of their nation’s Army or higher. Twenty seven course graduates have become heads of state.

The international students in the class join more than 1,050 United States Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard officers for the 10-month class that graduates in June 2017. In addition, 11 civilians from U.S Government partner agencies and departments will attend the class. New for class 2017 will be four Department of the Army civilians. The course is designed to develop war-fighting and adaptive leadership skills necessary for military officers to be proficient in Unified Land Operations.

CGSC strives to be an educational center of excellence that is renowned in the study of leadership, the conduct of joint and combined land warfare, and the application of Joint, Interagency, Intergovernmental, and Multinational organizations to synchronize all elements of power to achieve national objectives. The College supports field commanders with well-trained and well-educated leaders, in-depth research in operational-level studies, and reach-back planning in support of ongoing operations.

For more information contact the Army University Public Affairs Office at (913) 684-5428 or ArmyU@mail.mil.