Joint Services Command and Staff College

British military academic establishment

Joint Services Command and Staff College (JSCSC) is a British military academic establishment providing training and education to experienced officers of the Royal Navy, Army, Royal Air Force, Ministry of Defence Civil Service, and serving officers of other states.

JSCSC combined the single service provision of the British Armed Forces: Royal Naval College, Greenwich, Staff College, Camberley, RAF Staff College, Bracknell, and the Joint Service Defence College, Greenwich. Initially formed at Bracknell in 1997, the college moved to a purpose built facility in the grounds of the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom at Watchfield in Oxfordshire in 2000.

JSCSC is a component of the Defence Academy and the commandant is a full member of the DA Management Board, reporting to the director of the Defence Academy. The commandant is a two star appointment (rear admiral, major general or air vice marshal) and can be filled by candidates from each of the three services. Within JSCSC itself, each service is represented by a one star assistant commandant, each with responsibility for both single service issues and delivery of training. The dean of academic studies leads King's College London's Defence Studies Department, which provides theoretical and conceptual academic education in partnership with the military directing staff.

The college badge features an anchor, crossed swords and an eagle, representing each of the three Armed Services. Previously, a cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) was used as the symbol of the Joint Service Defence College; Britain's largest seabird flies, swims on the sea surface and catches its fish underwater, yet builds its nest on dry land (either on cliffs or in riverside trees). The alumni association of the college, open to graduates of the Higher Command and Staff Course, the Advanced Command and Staff Course, and staff of the college, is named the Cormorant Club.