Portsmouth Military Education
Read about the packages available to members of the Armed Forces
The Portsmouth Military Education (PME) Team has a history of delivering professional military education to the UK’s military. We cover areas ranging from international security and air power, to cyber and space security in a continually evolving curriculum. We deliver a combination of practical and research-based learning.
Air and space power education for the Royal Air Force
The Portsmouth Military Education Team is made up of subject matter experts across the wide spectrum of topics a modern, capable military needs to study. These include:
- International security
- Air power
- Military theory
- Joint operations
- Cyber security
- Space security
- Military history
Initial Officer Training – Royal Air Force College Cranwell
We are very proud to support RAF Initial Officer Training and take the responsibility very seriously. In 2022 the PME team overhauled assessment on this course and introduced a new dynamic approach replacing essays with oral presentations.
Combined with the sector-leading approach to blended online digital delivery, the PME team continue to deliver cutting edge services in both the content and delivery of education to the Royal Air Force. At the RAF College, our specialist teams teach, tutor and assess the next generation of air and space power leaders in three core areas:
- International security and relations
- The development of air power theory and practice
- Contemporary security operations and challenges
Non-commissioned officer training - RAF Halton
At RAF Halton, our specialist team delivers tailored education packages to non-commissioned officers. We train participants in the use of air power as a military instrument, and its position in the global geo-strategic context.
Teaching staff profiles
You will be taught by our experienced staff. See all members of the team.
Tom Smith - Academic Director
Tom leads the PME team from the RAF College, managing the delivery of various courses for the RAF at Cranwell and Halton. Tom specialises in contemporary security and terrorism with a particular focus in Asia. Following his MSc at the London School of Economics, he worked for the United Nations in Sri Lanka. In 2016, he was commissioned by the Ministry of Defence’s Defence Human Capability Science and Technology Centre to examine the role of ISIS and other jihadist social media in the Syrian War. Then again by DSTL in 2020 to examine the use of advanced technology in weapons in current and future conflict. His researched was published in both the leading terrorism academic journals and in 2020 edited the 2 volume account of Global Jihad bringing the worlds experts together for critical threat analysis. In 2022 he published work on election violence in the Philippines in the leading journal Pacific Affairs. He has given evidence before the All Parliamentary Group on Human Rights regarding human rights abuses in the Philippines, as well as speaking at the House of Lords.
Frank Ledwidge - Senior Lecturer
Frank began his career as a criminal barrister in his home city of Liverpool. He was called up as an RN Reserves officer in 1996 and served several tours as a human intelligence operator in the Balkans and Iraq. In civilian life he worked eight years with the OSCE as a senior human rights officer in the Balkans and the Former Soviet Union. Whilst in the Balkans he worked as an investigator for the International Criminal Tribunal. He was the first Justice Advisor for the UK PRT in Helmand and served as a stabilisation officer for the British Missions in Benghazi and Tripoli during the Libya War in 2011-12. He completed his PhD (at KCL) in 2015 and has since worked as senior lecturer at both Cranwell and Halton. He is the author of several books including the bestselling 'Losing Small Wars' (Yale 2011/2018) and Aerial Warfare (Oxford 2018) both of which were included on the Chief of the Air Staff reading lists for the relevant years. His interests are in contemporary conflict, space and military ethics.
Clare Stevens - Teaching Fellow
Clare Stevens is a cyber security expert leading on cyber related material in our courses. Her research expertise pertains to the contemporary security issues of digital technologies in international security, with a particular focus on cybersecurity politics and American security policy. Her doctoral research was on the strategic use and misuse of cyberspace by state and non-state actors in the United States. By using the idea of “boundary work” as an organising heuristic for her analysis, her PhD thesis analysed the fraught domestic political processes of defence and security policymaking in the US to show how the ways that state actors talk about cybersecurity and cyber operations are shaping or challenging understandings of “old” strategic concepts, social categories and boundaries. Her current research interests are about the role of government secrecy in cyber operations.
Veronika Poniscjakova - Teaching Fellow
Veronika’s research focuses on the role of counter-culture, religion and right-wing ideology on perpetration of political violence and civil disobedience in Israel. She has 4 years teaching experience in air power, history and international relations. While working at the University of Nottingham she taught modules on the War in Iraq and Political Theory: From Ancient to Modern.
Contact Us
For further information please contact the Portsmouth Military Education Academic Director, Dr Tom Smith via tom.smith@port.ac.uk or tom.smith197@mod.gov.uk
Blogs
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Life Solved
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Using Robotics to Support Physical Recovery ft. Amy Wright
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How Fashion and the Internet are Changing the Status of Women in Iran ft. Dr Mahsa Ghaffari
Fraud Falling Under the Radar ft. Professor Mark Button
The Evolution of Cybersexualities ft. Dr Trudy Barber
Air Power and International Security Podcast
Brought to you by the University of Portsmouth's Military Education Team (PME), this show aims to develop understandings of the use of air and space power in the contemporary world.
Courses and training
Chartered Manager Degree Apprenticeship (BA (Hons) Business Leadership and Management)
BA Leadership and Management
Whether you're already in employment or looking to start your career, this degree apprenticeship can help you develop your management skills, boost your job prospects and earn a degree whilst working full time.
MSc Leadership and Management
Take your practical leadership experience you’ve gained in your career and complete a dissertation on leadership or management to convert your experience into a full Master’s degree.