The International Junior Officer Leadership Development Seminar (IJOLDS) is a week long course organised by the US Air Force Reserve, which combines theoretical and practical leadership training with cultural and social activities.
This year the course was held in Dubendorf, Switzerland at the end of August and five British Officers attended: Lt Jeff McAlpine and Sub Lt Laura Harrison from the RNR, and Capt Matthew Trump, Lt Jo Burke and 2Lt Steve Cooper from the TA. Other participants came from the USA, Germany, Holland, Sweden, Canada and Italy. The Course Facilitators were Senior Warrant Officers and Officers from the Swiss Airforce.
The week started with a guided tour of Lucerne, a visit to the Lucerne Military Museum and a Swiss Folklore dinner on the Sunday. On Monday the classroom activity began in earnest and the students, organised into seven multi-national syndicates of nine participants, began to delve into leadership theory and models. Workshops focused on issues such as motivation, conflict resolution, stress management, values and critical thinking. They were interspersed with command tasks, lectures on the Swiss armed forces, a visit to Fortress Reuenthal and the Swiss Military Museum, and culminated on Friday in an inter-syndicate obstacle course style competition and a farewell dinner at the Castle of Bubikon.
The programme offered the reservists the opportunity to meet people from a number of countries in an informal, educational and safe environment to explore how to work together and the differences and similarities between countries in preparation for multi-national operations. The international setting allowed participants to see how other forces conduct their business and there were many opportunities for sharing ideas and experiences during the theoretical sessions and for getting to know both our hosts and fellow attendees at the cultural and social events.
Captain Trump said “I found the course to be extremely useful and it comes with my whole-hearted recommendation. IJOLDS provides the ideal opportunity for young officers to cover leadership and development in an international arena, and having an insight into other forces’ ways of working and your own prejudices prior to arriving in theatre will make integration swifter and less painful, especially if working within a multinational HQ. For me IJOLDS provided a useful check on the varying styles of leadership and helped me develop an action plan about the type of leader I want to be.”
Sub Lt Harrison added “IJOLDS provides an opportunity to explore the challenges of working in joint and multinational environments, such as language barriers, different personalities and a lack of understanding of how other forces are structured or how they approach tasks. It tested how quickly you could build a team from a group of individuals from many walks of life to work towards a common goal. The international dimension allows you to form your own perspective of working with other nations, rather than have your opinion prejudiced by the experiences and opinions of others. I would recommend IJOLDS because you get to meet people who you may otherwise not encounter until you go on ops. It is very relevant for preparing junior officers for operational capability as it equips you with a better idea of what to expect from other nations. To have trained internationally gives you a head start when you have to put it into practice, and from a personal perspective you may make contacts that will help you out in civvy street – any training for a reservist is always a potential networking opportunity that can help you in your day to day business. We should be replicating this course in the UK in a tri-service environment so that we get the opportunity to work jointly prior to going on ops – it would teach us a lot about our colleagues in the other services and help us appreciate that even within our own country we do things differently, let alone once you bring the international element in.”
