The College was officially inaugurated on 28 August 1998 by President Chandrika Kumaratunga by the request of the Commander of the Army, Lieutenant General Rohan Daluwatte.
At the inception, a British Army Training Team consisting of two Lieutenant Colonels was attached, in order to assist the faculty to formulate a curriculum similar to the British Joint Services Command and Staff College, but with emphasis on local requirements providing required training material and fine tuning the local faculty's teaching skills.
The ACSC was established with the aim of developing the professional knowledge and understanding of selected Student Officers both in command and on staff duties, for the Sri Lanka Army.
Furthermore, changing tactics of adversaries compelled the military to revise its doctrines in war fighting, thus setting conditions for a sound ‘Joint environment’.
On 22 January 2007, ACSC was re-designated as the Defence Services Command and Staff College, where all military doctrinal and strategic level planning and teachings were brought under one roof with Secretary to the President, Lalith Weeratunga serving as the Chief Guest.
The Student Officers from respective Services are functioning under three wings namely Army, Navy and Air, with greater emphasis on Joint Environment.
By this process we seek to develop their breadth of understanding and their ability to analyse and evaluate issues in a logical sequence.
This auditorium is temporarily housed at its present location awaiting completion of construction work of a more spacious and modern premises.