Army basic training in primary military skills and discipline was conducted over a fourteen-week period for both volunteers and conscripts. More advanced training in individual weapons, as well as in artillery, engineering, communications, and other specialties, was provided after recruits were assigned to their permanent units. Soldiers qualifying for promotion attended a general NCO school providing instruction in leadership techniques. Additional courses for NCOs were offered at training centers specializing in armor, artillery, engineering, and logistics. A branch of the infantry school trained Special Forces personnel in techniques of night patrol, demolition, map reading, and hand-to-hand combat.

With the exception of a very limited number of officers commissioned from NCO ranks, officer candidates were selected from applicants who were graduates of the country's secondary schools. Until the early 1980s, the cadets attended a two-year course of instruction at the Jordanian Military Academy, where they pursued a program modeled on that of Sandhurst. In 1987, however, the first graduates of the four-year program at Mutah Military University in the town of Mutah (also seen as Moata) south of Amman, were commissioned as second lieutenants. The curriculum at Mutah has been described as similar to that of the Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina, a military college offering bachelor of arts and bachelor of science degrees in a number of fields.

Two general courses of advanced officer training were available, one at the Jordanian Staff College and the other at the War College, both located near Amman. Both programs were one year in length. The Staff College course was offered to senior captains, majors, and lieutenant colonels. The War College course was offered to senior lieutenant colonels, colonels, and brigadier generals. Virtually all officers attended the Staff College or its equivalent abroad. Both institutions were affiliated with Mutah. Graduates of the Staff College were awarded bachelor of arts degrees in military science from Mutah, and graduates of the War College earned masters degrees.

Many Jordanian officers also attended the United States Army Command and General Staff College or the British Army Staff College. Both officers and NCOs also could attend more specialized technical schools in the United States and Britain. Some training positions continued to be available at Sandhurst for selected army cadets.

The training offered at Jordan's military schools was considered to be of high quality. The schools attracted several hundred military officers and enlisted personnel annually from nearby Arab countries (see Military Cooperation with Other Arab States , this ch.). The armed forces also administered a high school in Amman and a number of schools in other areas of the country, particularly at the more remote posts in the south, to educate children of military personnel. The schools were conducted on semimilitary lines and provided some introductory training, but the curriculum was c18e comparable to that used in civilian schools and was coordinated with the Ministry of Education.

Data as of December 1989