1.21 The College has no executive control over the quality of United Kingdom military officers sent to attend its courses. The single Services decide which of their officers attend, although the College does advise the Services on the selection of suitable candidates. The Services' policies on attendance vary. It is a prerequisite for the Army and Royal Air Force officers attending the Advanced course that they have previously attended the relevant Junior courses. This is not the case for the Royal Navy. The College told us, however, that the nature of senior military officer career management dictates that the highest quality students attend the Advanced course. In addition, most Junior course training is mandatory. The high graduation standards of the students who have attended also give some assurance that the students generally have been of the right quality.
1.22 In July 2001 the three Services agreed to the College's proposal for the articulation of a common entry standard for students on the Advanced course. The Services, however, still reserved the right to send to the College whichever officers they wanted.
1.23 The College does not control the allocation of places on the Advanced course between the Services. The division of the total number of places available for United Kingdom military students between the Services was agreed by the Chiefs of Staff when the course was first being set up and was based on the capacity of the previous, single Service colleges. The Defence Training Review has recommended that the Department reviews the distribution of places between the Services to ensure that it remains valid in line with the changes arising out of the Strategic Defence Review and the evolving career structures within the single Services. For example, a recent review by the Army of its officers' training requirements has resulted in it needing 18 (17 per cent) fewer places on this course.