The establishment of an independent Commission on the Defence Forces is an important commitment made in the Programme for Government, which provides that the Commission is to be established before the end of 2020, with a mandate to report within 12 months. The establishment of an independent Commission on the Defence Forces underpins the Government’s commitment to ensuring that the Defence Forces are fit for purpose, both in terms of meeting immediate requirements and also in terms of seeking to develop a longer term vision for beyond 2030. In establishing this Commission, which contains impressive national and international high-level expertise and experience, the Government are seeking to ensure that the outcome of this process will be a Defence Forces that is agile, flexible and adaptive in responding to dynamic changes in the security environment, including new and emerging threats and technologies.

The Defence Forces Review is an annual academic publication which provides a peer review analysis of contributions based on a selected theme. The publication is circulated nationally and internationally, and seeks to contribute to policy and capability development at the operational and strategic level.In 2019 the Review was completed in collaboration with University College Dublin, and the theme was, 'The 22nd Century Military Force: Technology, Innovation and Future Force Concepts'. In 2020, the Review will be jointly collaborated with Dublin City University and the theme focuses on, 'The global island: Strategic implications for Irish defence planning in the evolving geopolitical landscape'.

The Joint Services Command and Staff College trains and educates UK officers from all three services and military students from 57 other nation's armed forces around the world. Their mission is to deliver first class education, which develops UK personnel and their allies’ defence forces by giving them the skills they need to address future security and defence challenges at home and abroad.The Advanced Command Staff Course (ACSC) represents a unique opportunity for both military and non military students with an interest or connection to the defence, national security or international relations fields, to study alongside military professionals in an open, enquiring and intellectually focused environment. ACSC is a flagship course, a year long, delivered at a post-graduate level course for mid-seniority military and civilian personnel.The aim of the course is to cultivate officers (Lt Col, OF-4) and individuals for high grade assignments, including command by developing their effective intellect, with associated analytical decision making and communication skills, complemented by broadening of their professional knowledge and perspective through:A deeper appreciation of single service, joint, combined and multi-agency operationsA better understanding of the higher management of Defence A comprehensive grasp of strategy, security and defence in a political, international and financial contextTo act as a catalyst for attitudinal and behavioural change through learning.