New Army Course - Advanced Land Power Studies

[Fabius]

As the Army attempts to upscale itself from Battalions and Battle Group to Brigades and Divisions, the Army is introducing a new course.

The Advanced Land Power Studies - ALPs for short. This is supposed to take its origin from the US Army’s Advanced Military Studies Program better know by where it’s taught, the SAMS ( School of Advanced Military Studies.

Here is what the Canadian Army Command and Staff College says about ALPs.

What is ALPS?
Advanced Land Power Studies. A new program being designed at CACSC that will generate advanced military thinkers. The course will focus on advanced critical and creative thinking methodologies, draw operational design insights from historical case studies, evaluate theoretical approaches, and synthesize how all of that intersects in modern operations.

Who is it for?
Selected post-JCSP officers, that will be closely career managed into specific utilization positions following the course.

Where?
Kingston, Ontario, is the primary location, as well as a series of international staff rides and exercises.

When?
Launching in August 2026. The course duration is 18 weeks of full-time study.

What isn’t it?
ALPS is not a new AOC, and does not replace JCSP or NSP.

Why?
To develop advanced skills that improve the Army’s ability to apply land power within a pan-domain environment. ALPS prepares officers to think clearly, plan confidently, and operate effectively across complex, multi-domain conditions.

Here is what SAMs says about AMSP.

AMSP is a graduate-level education program intended to develop effective planners who engage and enable senior leaders understanding of the operational environment further enabling them to visualize and describe viable solutions to complex operational problems.

AMSP graduates are:

• Critical and creative thinkers grounded in operational theory, doctrine, and history.
• Can identify problems and propose viable solutions.
• Can clearly communicate orally, graphically, and in writing.
• Strong leaders who collaborate effectively.
• Posses the courage to lead from above, across the staff, and below.
• Physically and mentally tough.
• Are humble professionals who are more than they seem.

AMSP is an 11-month program designed for majors, junior lieutenant colonels and select senior warrant officers across all services, international officers, and interagency/army civilian professionals with a desire to improve both themselves and their profession. SAMS has one AMSP cohort per year which begins in June and graduates the following May. Each cohort consist of eight seminars and each seminar has 14-16 students led by a senior lieutenant colonel or colonel and PhD. Graduates receive a 6S Skill Identifier and receive a Master of Arts in Military Operations. Upon graduation, officers generally serve a 12-month utilization tour in a critical battle staff position at the division, corps, Army Service Component Command, or their service/career equivalent.

Couple interesting things about this:
First is that the Cdn Army seems to be viewing this as an addendum to JCSP, aimed at post JCSP personnel.
Second, this seem will likely have impact across the joint force as personnel gain more experience and understanding with operational design vs only OPP etc.
Third, tied to the first point is that the Army is likely making a mistake in selecting post JCSP personnel. In doing so it’s likely tying this to the singular understanding of command as the career progression of personnel vs establishing a difference between a command stream and a staff stream.

It will be interesting to see a few things play out. What trades send personnel on this. Who gets to nominate candidates and where they get employed.

Obvious employment should be in the Brigade and Division G5 positions as well as some of the joint planners in CJOC etc.

 

[SeaKingTacco]

I like it.

 

[FJAG]

So we're slowly creeping back to my 1980 Army Command and Staff Course. Nice.

 

[Ostrozac]

Obvious employment should be in the Brigade and Division G5 positions as well as some of the joint planners in CJOC etc.

Post-JCSP types are probably too senior to be Brigade G5s, and as Jarmy as CJOC can feel sometimes, that isn’t the right place to employ experts in land warfare. This seems specifically designed to produce staff for the manoeuvre division headquarters in Edmonton — and for those over in CADTC involved in collective training/doctrine for that division.

 

[brihard]

As the Army attempts to upscale itself from Battalions and Battle Group to Brigades and Divisions, the Army is introducing a new course.

The Advanced Land Power Studies - ALPs for short. This is supposed to take its origin from the US Army’s Advanced Military Studies Program better know by where it’s taught, the SAMS ( School of Advanced Military Studies.

Here is what the Canadian Army Command and Staff College says about ALPs.



Here is what SAMs says about AMSP.


Couple interesting things about this:
First is that the Cdn Army seems to be viewing this as an addendum to JCSP, aimed at post JCSP personnel.
Second, this seem will likely have impact across the joint force as personnel gain more experience and understanding with operational design vs only OPP etc.
Third, tied to the first point is that the Army is likely making a mistake in selecting post JCSP personnel. In doing so it’s likely tying this to the singular understanding of command as the career progression of personnel vs establishing a difference between a command stream and a staff stream.

It will be interesting to see a few things play out. What trades send personnel on this. Who gets to nominate candidates and where they get employed.

Obvious employment should be in the Brigade and Division G5 positions as well as some of the joint planners in CJOC etc.

I find the potential opening to ‘interagency civilian professionals’ odd. I struggle to understand the rationale for that.

 

[Fabius]

Post-JCSP types are probably too senior to be Brigade G5s, and as Jarmy as CJOC can feel sometimes, that isn’t the right place to employ experts in land warfare. This seems specifically designed to produce staff for the manoeuvre division headquarters in Edmonton — and for those over in CADTC involved in collective training/doctrine for that division.

That’s one reason I think the post JSCP selection is perhaps an issue. The concepts aren’t necessarily Bde level but employing them at that level does two things in my mind;
It allows for the Div and Corps plans to be better understood at the Bde level.
It allows for personnel to gain experience as they fulfill the staff functions at the various echelons.

The reason I say CJOC is that’s likely the Canadian level where “campaigns” are going to be drafted to a degree. Having personnel with operational design experience there won’t hurt.

That said I don’t disagree with CADTC needing that experience as well as they look to validate the collective training.

 

[Jarnhamar]

closely career managed into specific utilization positions

Wouldn't this potentially limit experience with command, operational field roles, and other specialty tracks?

 

[Fabius]

My understanding is that’s it’s only for a 12-24 month period.
Given the Army career mgmt and the post JCSP nature of the nominations I would be surprised if the graduates are employed in a directly related position past 36 months.
I would also offer that it’s likely not great odds that they would be employed in that field again.

We don’t, to my mind, really have a human resource management plan to train and progress personnel through various echelons with a qualification like ALPs or AMSP.

 

[Fabius]

So we're slowly creeping back to my 1980 Army Command and Staff Course. Nice.

Found this while trying to look up what the 1980 course covered.
THE EVOLUTION OF CANADIAN FORCES STAFF EDUCATION AND OPERATING IN A POST-COLD WAR WORLD

Seems that the 1980s course morphed into the current JCSP.
ALPs is now the Army’s effort to address supposed JCSP deficiencies in the Land Domain I guess.

The paper linked above outlines some concerns from the early 2000s that the knowledge was being delivered too late and to a too senior an audience to truly benefit the Army. I suspect the same might occur with ALPs.
The Army will get to test and adjust.

 

[Kirkhill]

From the US course requirements


Posses (sic) the courage to lead from above, across the staff, and below.


Arrogant enough (OK - self-confident enough) to risk a charge of insubordination....

 

[FJAG]

Found this while trying to look up what the 1980 course covered.
THE EVOLUTION OF CANADIAN FORCES STAFF EDUCATION AND OPERATING IN A POST-COLD WAR WORLD

Seems that the 1980s course morphed into the current JCSP.
ALPs is now the Army’s effort to address supposed JCSP deficiencies in the Land Domain I guess.

The paper linked above outlines some concerns from the early 2000s that the knowledge was being delivered too late and to a too senior an audience to truly benefit the Army. I suspect the same might occur with ALPs.
The Army will get to test and adjust.

If I'm reading that article right then that wasn't what I was on.

At that time there were three staff courses in vogue for army officers.

The first was called the CF Staff School. A three month course at Avenue Road in Toronto. It taught basic staff systems and work that were standard across the CF. Basically targeted junior captains for joint staff work anywhere in the CF. (most army guys hated this course and thought it was beneath them - I came away quite liking it and not just because of the volleyball and pub crawls - It taught us how to study and I still credit what I learned on that course for seeing me through law school)

The second was the Canadian Army Command and Staff Course, an army specific course run out of the Canadian Army Command and Staff College at Fort Frontenac - about 5 and a bit months for senior army captains which taught army specific organization, tactics and staff work at the brigade and division level with a peek into corps. Basically an essential for promotion to major. Most of us would have previously had the Combat Team Commander's course and the advanced course from whatever corps we belong to - in my case the Advanced Arty Officer Course.

The last was CFC at the Armour Heights staff college in Toronto. A one year course for majors for promotion to LCol and covering a broad set of CF/DND wide and joint staff and national issues. (There was also the NDC in Kingston for the few and rarified)

I think the article looks more at the CFC course. I don't see any real mention of the CACSC except in passing.