The Joint and Combined Warfighting School produces graduates capable of creatively and effectively planning operational level warfighting for joint and combined military forces while integrating the effects of the United States Government, non-governmental organizations, and international organizations to ensure the success of Combatant and Joint Task Force Commanders operating within an uncertain operating environment.

If you desire a seat in a JCWS course, please contact your Service representative to inquire about quota availability.  Contact information is available via the "Contacts” page. 

For any additional information regarding JCWS, please contact the JFSC Registrar office at registrar2@ndu.edu or the JCWS Operations Officer at jeffrey.t.holdsworth.mil@ndu.edu.

On behalf of the National Defense University President and the Joint Forces Staff College (JFSC) Commandant and faculty, welcome to JCWS and Phase II of your Joint Professional Military Education (JPME).

Our mission is to educate national security professionals to plan and execute joint, interagency, intergovernmental, and multinational (JIIM) operations.  We prepare graduates for joint qualification, to meet Service talent management requirements, and to ensure joint commands and agencies are staffed with officers prepared to execute the mission of their commands.  We instruct students on the integrated strategic deployment, employment, sustainment, and redeployment of joint forces, accomplishing our mission through simulations, exercises, and case studies in a joint seminar environment.  The joint educational environment fosters a mutual understanding and rapport that develops when students from all Services share and challenge the ideas, values, and traditions of their Services and learn to plan and solve national security challenges through the skilled application of diplomatic, economic, military, and informational means.  JCWS builds on the foundation of JPME Phase I, and in the fully joint environment of JFSC, we foster acculturation as a key aspect in preparing knowledgeable and proficient members of a joint staff.  Our graduates will be able to lead joint planning efforts, integrate the creativity of operational art with the analytical and logical process of operational design, and be proficient with the Joint Planning Process as the application framework to develop theater strategies and operational plans in a complex global operating environment.

JCWS Resident and Satellite programs are 10-weeks, and the Hybrid program is 40-weeks with three weeks resident and 37 weeks of distance education.  In our programs, you will interact with classmates in blended, synchronous, and asynchronous formats, including collaborative sessions, discussion forums, and group instruction.  These instructional periods will require your full participation, regardless of program modality.  Whether you are a Resident, Satellite, or Hybrid student, plan accordingly to achieve the educational requirements while balancing your other roles and responsibilities during this remarkable period in history.

When nominated by your Service or organization, the Registrar’s Office will contact you with instructions for enrollment and to create your student accounts.  If you have any questions, you may contact the registrar at registrar2@ndu.edu or (757) 443-6124.  Once enrolled, you will receive additional information from your seminar faculty to begin orientation. Please refer to our website, https://jfsc.ndu.edu/Students/Incoming-Students/ in preparation for your specific program.

I wish you success and look forward to engaging with you at various points during the course.

STEPHEN CHIVERS
CAPT, U.S. Navy
Director, Joint and Combined Warfighting School

Read CAPT Chivers' Biography