Defence Staff College(DSC)

DEFENCE STAFF COLLEGE (DSC)

SHORT HISTORY OF THE DEFENCE STAFF COLLEGE (DSC)

The idea of establishing a Kenya Staff College was conceived in 1978, mainly to cut down on the high cost of overseas training. A firm decision to establish the Staff College was made in 1983. The period from July 1983 to July 1984 was spent on planning, writing and producing teaching material. The first course, Course 01-84/85, was launched in September 1984, but it was not until 21 July 1988 that the College was officially inaugurated by the then President H.E. Hon. D T Arap Moi during the graduation ceremony of Course 04-88/89.

The Mission of the College is "To prepare selected officers for the assumption of increased responsibility in Command, Staff and Peace Support Operations." This fits in well with the College's Vision which is "To be a Centre of Excellence in the training of Command, Staff and Peace Support Operations". The course is meant for military officers who are either junior Lieutenant Colonels or senior Majors in rank (with only one exceptional case in Course 20-2204 of a higher ranking officer, a Brigadier, from Rwanda) drawn from the three Services of the Kenyan Armed Forces and other friendly African countries. The first course had an enrolment of 20 Kenyan officers. In Course 8-91/92, the student intake rose to 36 and currently stands at 48 officers. The College started admitting officers from other friendly African countries in Course 7-90/91. The foreign officers intake has since increased from the initial 2 to 15 in the current course.

The College has so far graduated 20 courses with a total of 655 officers, out of whom 132 were non-Kenyans. Some of these officers are currently serving in senior command and staff appointments both in our Armed Forces and the Armed Forces of other friendly African countries. The current course comprises of 48 officers drawn from Kenya, Botswana, Malawi, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. In the past officers from Ethiopia, Lesotho, and Swaziland also have been trained here in DSC. The next course, Course 22¬2006 will in addition to the current composition, include one student from the Government of Sudan and one from the SPLM/A.

The Peace Support Training Centre (PSTC) is a new faculty of the College. It was established in 2000 and has since conducted 65 short-duration courses for local and foreign military, police and civilian personnel. So far `2594 personnel have been trained. The Centre is among the few well established Centres in the world and is a member of the International 'Association of Peace Support Training Centres (IAPTC). Indeed, pursuant ' to Article 3 of the African Union (AU) Constitutive Act, the Centre, together with other Centres in Africa will play a pivotal role towards capacity building on Peace Support Operations education and training for the African Union.

The Defence Staff College Course is now accredited to the University of Nairobi (UoN) for Ordinary and Post-graduate Diplomas in Strategic Studies. The UoN has issued to all the Course participants and the Directing Staff involved in this programme with the relevant Diplomas. With the award of Diplomas, the graduands are now able to undertake degree programmes at their convenience wherever they may be deployed.
The College is headed by an officer of the rank of Major General with the title of Commandant. Since inception, the College has had the following senior officers as Commandants:

Gen (Rtd) DRC Tonje - 1.7.83 - 27.2.86
Lt Gen (Rtd) A K Cheruiyot - 27.2.86 - 10.7.91
Lt Gen (Rtd) H W Njoroge - 10.7.91 - 15.3.95
Maj Gen (Rtd) P M Waweru - 15.3.95 - 30.4.98
Lt Gen (Rtd) J Koech - 1.5.98 - 30.11.99
Lt Gen (Rtd) L K Sumbeiywo - 1.12.99 - 30.11.00
Lt Gen J W Karangi (now VCGS) - 1.12.00 - 27.11.0
Maj Gen J K T Aruasa - 28.11.03 - To date .

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