About the Namibian Military School
The Ministry of Defence /Namibian Defence Force (MoD/NDF) is one of the most important agencies created by the Government of the Republic of Namibia at independence in 1990. The Ministry is entrusted to ensure the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country by guarding against external aggression, both conventional and unconventional; prevent violation of Namibia’ territorial integrity and provide assistance to civil authorities in guarding and protecting government buildings and key installations as provided in the Defence Act of 1990.
In view of this, and in order to safeguard peace and sovereignty, the nation requires highly trained military officers in both military and civilian professional skills. To perform this responsibility effectively, the MoD embarked on modernizing its operations through education and training. For that reason, the MoD initiated professional military academic programmes in collaboration with the University of Namibia, the first of its kind in the country, to provide much needed professional skills in the defence force.
SCHOOL OF MILITARY SCIENCE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
In 2007, the first military academic programme, the Master of Arts in Security and Strategic Studies (MA SSS) was launched at the University of Namibia, Faculty of Economics and Management Science, Department of Political and Administrative Studies. In 2012 a Postgraduate Diploma in Security and Strategic Studies (PGDSSS) programme that serves as a bridging course for the MA SSS was added to the academic programme.
In 2011 the Ministry of Defence approached the University of Namibia requesting for the establishment of the Bachelor of Science in Military Science (Honours) curriculum. This idea culminated into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two institutions. The Faculty of Science was requested to develop the curriculum for the said programme which led to the establishment of the Department of Military Science.
The curriculum for three programmes (Army, Aeronautical, and Nautical – three subprogrammes) was approved by Senate in August 2013 and the Department of Military Science was established in January 2014. The first intake of 34 students started the programme at the beginning of the 2014 Academic year.
The Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Military Science includes both the professional aspects of the military and related academic disciplines.
In 2014 the Senate approved the transformation of the Department of Military Science into a School of Military Science under the Faculty of Science. Additionally, the Senate approved the following departments under the school: Department of Military Law and Military History, Department of Aeronautical Science, Department of Nautical Science and Department of Security and Strategic Studies. Currently the school has 85 students in various programmes which also include the first group of young Namibians drawn from the Public with prospect of becoming officers in the Namibia Defence Force.