“Many of whom are new, to have a pragmatic understanding of how the architecture works and their roles in it,” Dr. Sannoh said. He maintained that the exercise will concentrate on the decision-making process, testing and reviewing how decisions generated by the National Security Council (NSC) are executed.

Making a power-point presentation, Director, Research and Assessment at ONS, Solomon Caulker dealt on the topic: ‘Standard Response Guidelines for the National Security Architecture’. Mr. Caulker said the Standard Response Guidelines for the National Security Architecture was last published in 2005. He also said that Sierra Leone has moved forward significantly since then, but not without a number of major challenges which have struck at the very heart of the country, including the Ebola outbreak in 2014.

Mr. Caulker further explained that the world has changed, adding that threats from terrorism, climate change and a rapid population growth all characterize the developing challenges across the world with which the country’s national security architecture must deal.

“Whatever we do, at some stage an event will occur which requires our reaction, and so the guidelines will not simply look at the architecture around preparation and prevention, but also around the delivery of our focused national response,” Mr. Caulker noted.

He stressed that the guidelines detail the National Security Architecture, including key responsibilities and the appropriate command and control mechanisms to ensure that the country’s national security approach is focused and facilitates the commitment of scarce resources, in a timely, appropriate, and just manner.