In August 2009, three Junior Officers travelled to the Canadian Air Force College in Toronto for IJOLDS, a week-long course organised by the US Air Force Reserve. Around sixty other participants came from the USA, Canada, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden and Holland.
The aim of IJOLDS is to develop a greater understanding between Officers of different NATO and PfP countries of the way each tackles leadership and personnel development and how each might benefit through best practice. It is excellent preparation for multinational operations and there are many opportunities for sharing ideas and experiences.
IJOLDS combines theoretical and practical leadership training with cultural activities. Workshops in Toronto focused on issues such as leadership theory, motivation, conflict resolution, stress management, values and critical thinking. They were interspersed with lectures analysing past conflicts and command interaction, a field trip and a desktop exercise involving group discussion and a presentation.
In an informal and educational setting IJOLDS provides an opportunity to explore the challenges of working in joint and multinational environments, such as a lack of understanding of how other armed forces are structured or how they approach tasks. IJOLDS tests how quickly you can build a team from a group of individuals of different backgrounds to work towards a common goal as Junior Officers are assigned to syndicates for lectures, discussions and command tasks.
Lt Elaine Davies said “It was good to experience the interaction between the different nations and the different approaches to study, group discussion and humour. There was a good balance between classroom work and time to experience the local culture, and ample opportunity to network and learn about the uniforms, traditions and structure of other armed forces represented. The field trip to the preserved battlefield sites gave a really good appreciation of the events during that conflict and the course provided an excellent development opportunity.”
SLt Henry Watts added “IJOLDS was an excellent opportunity to broaden my knowledge of what working in a coalition environment would be like. It felt quite representative of any NATO battle staff with the language barriers and cultural differences becoming apparent throughout the week. We had some really interesting exercises to work through in smaller syndicates and it was here that the most benefit was gained through debate and discussion of the problems presented to us and learning the ways the different nations think and operate.”
Any Reserve Officers or Officer Cadets of Lieutenant (RNR), Captain (RMR/TA) or Flight Lieutenant (RAuxAF) or below who would like to attend IJOLDS this summer should contact the UKRFA Secretariat on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for further information. IJOLDS takes place in a different country each year and Colorado, USA, is a possible location for 2010.
