The Defence Services Command and Staff College set out to train officers in command and staff techniques, but just as important, it aims at helping them to develop the intellectual attributes to cope with their future appointments and the challenges that are inevitable in the years ahead. By this process, we seek to develop their breadth of understanding and the ability to analyse and evaluate issues in a logical way.

To develop the professional knowledge and understanding of selected Student Officers from the Three-services, Sri Lanka Police, Friendly Foreign Countries and other Public Institutions in order to prepare them for appointments on Command and on Staff, whilst imparting knowledge on government procedures and other public sectors.
This College adopts concept of learning organization as a platform for the institutional and individual development based on Ten Core Values.
Ten Core Values which entwined in teaching of the College are:
Driving Tenet – Common Sense