Gul Hameed
As Pakistan Navy War College (PNWC) celebrates Golden Jubilee of PN staff course, it is evident how this remarkable journey of half a century has transformed the college into an institute of formidable stature. As leading professional institute, PNWC has produced generations of officers for Pakistan navy and sister services besides overseas militaries. These graduates were fully adept in staff skills and armed with intellectual capacity commensurate with need of times. By any standards, not only is PNWC the highest seat of learning in Pakistan Navy but also a respectable name among international institutes of naval learning across the region.
Before the establishment of a Staff College, the country had to look upon foreign countries to train its officers due to inadequate instructional and training facilities at home. The journey to establish a formal in country staff course facility commenced in 1968. A humble beginning was made and a staff school was raised to conduct Junior Staff Courses. It later advanced into PN Staff College in 1971. Out of such modest beginnings did evolve a noble institution of international repute. Fifty years of academic excellence and efforts by Pakistan Navy have ensured professional excellence among the guardians of the sea.
The PN Staff Course consists of study modules divided into 20 off-campus and 45 on campus weeks. In a total three semesters, the course has 20 different modules. The modules relate to research methodology, leadership and decision making, contemporary warfare, maritime operations, military history, sub-conventional warfare combined operations and military technology. The course also involves war games and simulations as integral part. This is meant to develop familiarity amongst participants with new trends in warfare and strategy.
The operational area of Pakistan Navy is vast and Pakistan being an ocean dependent economy, officers from Pakistan Navy have an ongoing responsibility to safeguard national maritime interests. The Indian Ocean Region is today at the heart of global power politics. It is vulnerable to conflict with plethora of traditional and non-traditional threats. The myriad challenges and threats require officers of Pakistan Navy to be suitably equipped with intellectual and professional skills.
All through fifty years of existence, PN War College has been cognizant of its responsibility and has remained poised to equip the officers with the highest quality of naval education and training. Besides training regular career officers, PNWC also offers a short staff course to special branch officers of Pakistan Navy. The students include short service commission entrants, and officers from IT, Law and Education branches of Pakistan navy.
Pakistan’s economy is underpinned by sea commerce, but there is no gainsaying the fact that so far the nation has suffered from maritime blindness. It is characterized by oblivion to the limitless national maritime potential. Despite having a fairly long coastline and a vast Exclusive Economic Zone, the country’s total maritime turnover is far less than many of its neighbors. In order to help the nation rid itself of this perennial handicap; Pakistan Navy has taken various initiatives. Shifting PN War College to Lahore resulted in increased interaction between PNWC and local academia. To further this cause, PN established Maritime Centre of Excellence. As hub of Maritime thinking in the country, MCE spearheads academic research in maritime security and Blue Economy. Maritime Centre of Excellence, a maritime think-tank of high potential is poised to furnish intellectual input to the policy makers and stakeholders to facilitate suitable policy decisions.
Conducted annually by PNWC, Maritime Security Workshop (MARSEW) is an event of national stature. It was initiated in 2017. In order to sensitize government functionaries, business community, and academia, MARSEW brings people from various walks of life on a shared platform. Spanning over two weeks, MARSEW consists of initial academic sessions followed by visits to NHQ, naval facilities at Karachi, creek areas and Gwadar port. The last few days of MARSEW consist of Maritime Policy Formulation Exercise in which participants are required to formulate a suitable maritime policy for the country.
In 2018 Pakistan Navy War College signed MoU with six mainstream universities of Pakistan. It has provided opportunities at both ends to know and explore each other. This has since yielded far better understanding of Maritime issues among local academia and allowed two way research in maritime issues.
This constant evolution, resilience and achievement certainly owes greatly to the ones who served at PNWC. Successive commands, faculty and staff members rendered invaluable services that will be cherished in Pakistan Navy and the countries whose officers received training from PNWC.
The author is a Research officer at Maritime Centre of Excellence (MCE), Pakistan Navy War College, Lahore.
