TANAH JAMBU, Friday, 11 September 2020 – 49 officers from the Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF) and one officer from the Royal Brunei Police Force (RBPF) are currently attending the Intermediate Staff Course 20/2020 (ISC 20/2020). The course is currently held from 31 August 2020 until 04 December 2020 at the Leadership and Management Centre (LMC), Defence Academy, RBAF (DA RBAF). The 14-week course serves to prepare officers at Captain or equivalent rank for middle management level posts in the future and is a mandatory course to being promoted to the rank of Major/Lieutenant Commander. The course covers subjects ranging from leadership, staff duties, international relations, national government, and operational planning.
For the first two weeks, the officers were engaged in several activities built on the ideas of team building, self-reflection and leadership practice. Such activities include ice breaker sessions, analysis of personal timeline, Tetramap ® and Team Building Team Learning (TBTL) activities. In preparation for the coming weeks, the officers also visited the Ministry of Defence Library at Bolkiah Garrison to be introduced to the services offered by the library.
The officers also had the opportunity to engage with several Commanding Officers from across the RBAF during the Commanding Officers Leadership Forum. During the forum, Lieutenant Colonel Haji Rony Zai bin Haji Zaini, Commander Rasman bin Puteh, RBN and Lieutenant Colonel (U) Awg Muhammad Amiruddin bin Haji Tuah each presented their views on several aspects of leadership with particular attention given to the challenges of a generational divide and its impact on leadership practice today.
This was followed by a lecture on Islamic Leadership by Dr Mikdar Rusdi from Seri Begawan Religious Teachers University College (Kolej Universiti Perguruan Ugama Seri Begawan). He delivered his insights on the aspects and traits of leadership as derived from the Al-Quran and inspired by key historical figures from Islamic history. He also highlighted the importance of amanah and exercising fairness in leading subordinates with Allah as a perpetual guide and judge.
By the end of every week, the officers are provided with opportunities to
present their respective topics of choice as part of the weekly ISC Coffee
sessions. These serve to invite open discussions on topics ranging from
national trends, military culture to global news and to further develop their
ability to think critically on a variety of issues.
