Welcome to Academic Year 2023/2024

    The war in Europe continues, and we live in uncertain times.  The Covid-19 pandemic is behind us, but some things have changed.  Online tools and hybrid delivery of courses are more necessary than ever.  We can meet by Zoom or FaceTime. Group chats with WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger,  and SMS are easy to set up for classes or working groups.  Our dependence on web-based information and communications makes us vulnerable.  Several institutions have experienced significant and recurring cyber attacks. New diseases, survival migration, and extreme weather events seem to be a  new normal, and a part of your professional (and personal) futures. Make sure you have alternative ways of communicating during the coming year.

    The International Society of Military Sciences will hold its next annual conference, hosted by the Royal Danish Defence College in Copenhagen, in November 2023, with the theme Defence Alliances and Partnerships.

    The Noncommissioned member Executive Professional Development Program (NEPDP) will conduct an academic bridging program at RMC 14-25 August. Master warrant officers, Chief Warrant Officers and Chief Petty Officers will then attend classes at RMC in both terms.  If you are a returning cadet, look for these senior soldiers - you can learn a lot from them.

    If you are having difficulty accessing the RMC network from off site, try using the internet archive wayback machine to see images of the RMC website that are recorded there.  In case of disruption to the RMC network, your instructors may ask for civilian emails and cell-phone numbers.  Use the contacts below to reach me any time.

My Schedule / mon horaire

 Biographic Note

David Last is a graduate of the Royal Military College of Canada (BA), Carleton University (MA), the London School of Economics (PhD), and the US Army Command and General Staff College (cgs, MMAS). He served in the Canadian army for 30 years (Royal Canadian Artillery), and has taught political science and war studies at the Royal Military College of Canada since 1999, including three years as Registrar. Since 2017, he has also taught in the Institutional Policy Studies and Strategic Studies Streams of the Joint Command and Staff Program at the Canadian Forces College. He served in Germany during the Cold War and his peacekeeping assignments included commanding Blue Beret Camp in Cyprus, Force Commander’s staff in Croatia, and Civil Affairs in Bosnia, with field research on conflict management in the Balkans, West Africa and the Middle East. He has edited or co-edited six books and published more than 70 chapters, articles, and reports on peacekeeping, conflict, and higher education. Since 2009 his research has focused on conflict management, taking a global comparative perspective on security education. He has served as the Secretary to the International Society of Military Sciences (ISMS) since 2017, and is co-chair of the Military and Police Relations Working Group of the European Research Group on Military and Society (ERGOMAS) He is married to Dr. Desre Kramer of Toronto.