CGSOC Class of 2016 badge and graduation ceremonies

Approximately 1,300 officers graduate from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff Officer Course here June 10 at 9 a.m. [note start time is changed from (9:30 in the previous ArmyU release]  The graduating class includes mid-career officers from all American military services as well as 109 international officers and nine federal government civilian employees from other agencies. The ceremony is scheduled to be conducted outside at the Main Parade Field (Kearny Ave.) on Fort Leavenworth.

Lt. Gen. Edward C. Cardon. Commanding General, U.S. Army Cyber Command will be the graduation speaker. Cardon is a 1982 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and a former Deputy Commandant of CGSC. He holds master’s degrees from the U.S. Navy War College and the National Defense University. He was commissioned as an Engineer Officer and has commanded at the platoon, company, battalion and brigade levels. As a general officer, Cardon has served as Deputy Commander of the 3rd Infantry Division, deputy commanding general of U.S. Forces Iraq, and Commanding General 2nd Infantry Division. He has served operational deployments in Bosnia-Herzegovina and four times in Iraq.

The 10-month Command and General Staff Officers Course develops war-fighting and adaptive leadership skills necessary for military officers to be proficient in Unified Land Operations. The College is an educational center of excellence renowned in the study of leadership, the conduct of joint and combined land warfare, and the application of Joint, Interagency, Intergovernmental, and Multinational organizations to synchronize all elements of power to achieve national objectives.

The international military students, will receive the CGSC International Officer Graduate Badge during a ceremony Thursday, June 9, at 9 a.m. in the Eisenhower Auditorium at the Lewis and Clark Center. International military student participation in cooperative military studies in the United States originated at Fort Leavenworth in 1894. Since then, international military students have become an integral part of the “Fort Leavenworth experience” and to date more than 8,000 international officers have studied alongside U.S. military and government civilian counterparts.

In addition to completing the graduate-level course, approximately 139 students will be awarded the Master of Military Art and Science Degree. Students earn the master’s degree by successful completion of the Command and General Staff Officers Course, successful completion of an oral comprehensive exam, and writing and orally defending a thesis based on original research. The College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools to award the master’s degree.