International demand for New Zealand’s top military course

3 February 2026

Class 67 of the Advanced Command and Staff Course (Joint) commenced on 21 January, with guest speakerMajor General Cai Dexian, Chief of Army Singapore delivering a key address to 35 students at the New Zealand Defence Force’s Defence Academy at Trentham Military Camp in Upper Hutt.

The 48-week course, known generically as the ‘staff course’, is typically for military personnel at Major and Lieutenant Colonel equivalent ranks but is also available for senior non-commissioned officers and civilian officials from New Zealand Defence Force and other government agencies.

It is the highest level Joint Professional Military Education (JPME) course in New Zealand, delivered in partnership with the Centre for Strategic Studies, Victoria University of Wellington, on an integrated and partly accredited basis.

The course attracts international students; 11 are participating this year from Australia (two), Canada, India, Indonesia, PNG, the Philippines, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and the United States.

The aim of staff course is to educate and develop New Zealand and international military officers and civilian officials in preparation for the defence and security challenges they will face in senior command, leadership, and management positions, including in operational and strategic level headquarters.

Successful completion of the course leads to award of the military‘ Passed Staff Course (Joint)’ and academic Master of Strategic Studies qualifications.

It was Major General Cai’s first visit to New Zealand, but he was familiar with the course outline and said it was similar to Singapore’s JPME programme.

“Any time we can learn from friends and friendly nations, on how they run, how they operate, how they think as a Joint Force, is of great value in our relationships.”

He said the Singaporean student would gain more than just qualifications. “The relationships, the networks he will be able to build, and the friendships gained, will serve him very well in the years to come.”

Command and Staff College teaching fellow Doctor RoryPaddock said the course focuses on education and critical thinking,

“But elements are skills-based and akin to training, such as the inclusion of briefing papers as part of the assessment regime, and a bespoke form of the Joint Operations Planning Course.”

“Key themes include ‘turning strategy into action’; understanding ‘civil-military relations’; relating ‘theory and practice’; and exploring the ‘nature and character’ of war.”

Major James Brosnan, Royal New Zealand Engineers, said it was the right time in his career to tackle this.

“I’ve done all the command positions at my rank, and it’s my next level of professional development, including getting the Master’s degree. It’s also about relationship building and working with other students. We’ve even got a classmate from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and we’ll be learning from them.”

Another student, Lieutenant Commander Jodi Greenhalgh, said she was looking forward to the networking opportunities and different perspectives that came with this kind of international engagement.

Lieutenant Colonel Steven MacBeth, Commandant of the Command and Staff College, said Major General Cai’s address was a great way to kick off the course.

“It is incredibly valuable to have strategic leaders of this calibre providing practitioner insights that connect strategic theory into action,” he said.

“It provided the New Zealand and International students of our Advanced course with an immediate tangible connection with the world they will study through their academics this year and gave them the opportunity to interact with a variety of perspectives on the Indo-Pacific that are otherwise unavailable outside of the course.

“I look forward to the year and to welcoming both New Zealand and International speakers to the course and providing the students with opportunities to absorb and reflect on these real lessons from an increasingly challenging geo-political environment.”

The article was first published on the New Zealand Defence Force News.