Senior Command (SC) Course

1. General

The earliest Sr Offrs (SO) Course comprising 40 students was conducted from 16 Apr – 01 Jul 1951 at the Tactical Wing of The Infantry School, Mhow.
A total of 56 SO courses were conducted between 1951–1970; thereafter the name was changed to Senior Command (SC) Course.
The first SC Course was conducted from Apr – Jul 1971.

The SC Wing moved from The Infantry School to the present KLP location in Aug 1988. The original strength of IA officers from SC-1 to SC-88 was between 71 and 100, later increased to 160, and today stands at 190.
Since 2006, the SC Wing has been training officers from FFCs and CAPF as well. Currently, approx 13 SO vacancies are earmarked for them in each course.

2. Aim

To train potential Commanding Offrs, from all Arms and Services, to effectively command their units in Peace, Grey Zone & War in a Multi-Domain Environment.

3. Strength and Duration

205 potential COs with 14–17 years of service (including 185 IA + 20 IOs) attend the course for ten weeks, with three courses conducted per year.
SC-157, the first course conducted for Women Offrs (23 Mar – 04 May 2023), was attended by 91 WOs.
With effect from Training Year 2025–26, SC-165 was conducted (17 Apr 25 – 25 Jun 25) with 198 officers (incl 23 International Offrs) for a duration of 10 weeks.

4. Curriculum

The course curriculum has been revised to balance Tactical and Command Guidance, incorporating the “For the Student, By the Student” methodology.

4.1. Command Guidance

Approx 70% of the content specifically relates to command guidance aspects aimed at grooming future COs for their command tenure, including contemporary issues and emerging technologies. Important aspects covered are:

• 4.1.1. Leadership, morale and motivation

• 4.1.2. Mil law

• 4.1.3. Fin mgt aspects incl regtl accts and other funds

• 4.1.4. Tech infusion to enhance eqpt mgt

• 4.1.5. Unit adm incl maint of org climate and grooming of offrs

• 4.1.6. Wks procedure

• 4.1.7. HR

• 4.1.8. ACR writing and mgt of offrs postings etc.

4.2. Tactical Aspects

The sector/terrain-specific approach to tactics combines offensive–defensive operations with equal focus on both Fronts (NF & WF), with due emphasis on Jointness & Integration. Around 30% of the course content focuses on tactics, with attention also given to certain relevant Command Guidance aspects, including:

• 4.2.1. Decision making during ops

• 4.2.2. Tech infusion to speed ops and facilitate smoother conduct of ops

• 4.2.3. Op lgs

• 4.2.4. Understanding higher dirns and translating them to actions at unit level

• 4.2.5. Leadership

5. Conduct

The course is conducted in two tutorials of equal duration spread over 10 weeks.
Training is imparted through syn dscns, TDs, CDs, SMDs, BBE, outdoor exs, wargames and lectures by experts.
REs (Revision Exs) are conducted in each tutorial to assess assimilation by the student officers and confirm their understanding.

6. Focus Areas

The course gives equal weightage to operations and leadership. Key areas of focus are:

• 6.1. Tactical employment of a Unit in varied spectrum of ops as part of a Bde or Combat Command

• 6.2. Understanding higher dirn and joint ops

• 6.3. Effective Command and Leadership

• 6.4. Efficient administration of a Unit in peace and war

• 6.5. Faculty acts as a mentor

• 6.6. Transparent and objective assessment

• 6.7. Grey Zone ops incl Responses Short of War (RSOW)

• 6.8. Multi Domain Ops incl tech infusion

• 6.9. Critical & creative plg process like COPP & Red Teaming

• 6.10. Incorporation of PLA tactics as per latest REDFOR publication

• 6.11. Incorporation of innovative training methodologies like Podcasts, Brainstorming sessions, Book discussions, Activity-Based Learning etc.