The Flag Ceremony

August 7, 2023

The Flag Ceremony for international military student class of 2023 starts at 9:30 a.m. on Monday, August 7. It will be held indoors at the Lewis & Clark Center. The event will also be streamed on the CGSC Facebook page.

The ceremony honors the new class of international officers, and officially opens the new year at CGSC. This event is open to the general public, however, visitors must comply with the Fort's current base access policies.

There will  be golf carts running from the upper parking lot to (and from) the Lewis & Clark Center. There will no buses for shuttling attendees.

The ceremony starts at 9:30 but sponsors should arrive at 9:10-9:15 to get a seat by 9:25.  Arrive no earlier as the security sweep is scheduled between 8:30-9:00 and doors will be locked until 9:10. Please don't give gifts, take photos, etc. before the event as the Fort needs the IMS to focus on the event and scheduling.

There will be a formal reception after the event where sponsors can interact, take photos, give gifts and have some food with their IMS.

Video of 2020 Flag Ceremony

The Command and General Staff College opened Academic Year 2020 with the International Flag Ceremony for Command and General Staff Officer’s Course 2020 on Aug. 5 at 9:30. The ceremony features posting of the national colors of 89 nations that make up this year's International Military Student cohort.

The 114 International Military Students, some countries have multiple participants, includes the first officer from Fiji to attend the course. The Republic of Fiji is in the South Pacific. It is an archipelago of more than 300 islands famed for rugged landscapes, palm-lined beaches and coral reefs with clear lagoons. Its major islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, contain most of the population of more than 900,000. Viti Levu is home to the capital, Suva.

International military education at Fort Leavenworth began in 1894. Since then, more than 8,000 International Military Students from 166 countries have attended classes alongside their United States counterparts. CGSC’s international graduates have been extremely successful in their military careers. Nearly half achieve general officer rank.

The Class of 2020 International Military Students join nearly 1,000 United States Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard officers for the 10-month class that graduates in June 2021. In addition, 21 senior civilian employees from Army commands and other U.S. government agencies will attend the class.

The Army Command and General Staff Officers Course is a rigorous 10-month program of masters-level study that educates mid-career officers to be agile, innovative, and adaptive leaders within increasingly complex and uncertain environments. The Command and General Staff College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission to award a master’s degree.