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Another Crossroads? Professional Military Education Two Decades PDF

238 Pages·2010·4.18 MB·English
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Another Crossroads? Professional Military Education Two Decades After the Goldwater- Nichols Act and the Skelton Panel                                                                                                                                                                               U.S. House of Representatives • Committee on Armed Services Subcommittee on Oversight & Investigations April 2010 Committee Print 111-4 (National Defense University) (Military Academy) (Command & General Staff College) (Army War College) (Naval Academy) (Marine Corps University) (Naval War College) (Air Force Academy) (Air University) ANOTHER CROSSROADS? PROFESSIONAL MILITARY EDUCATION TWO DECADES AFTER THE GOLDWATER- NICHOLS ACT AND THE SKELTON PANEL U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES • COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES SUBCOMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND INVESTIGATIONS APRIL 2010 Committee Print 111-4 ii Nothing to see here iv HASC OVERSIGHT & INVESTIGATIONS STAFF O&I STAFF LEAD: LORRY M. FENNER, PH.D. O&I STAFF ASSISTANT: LEE F. HOWARD III JOHN E. KRUSE WILLIAM S. JOHNSON THOMAS E. HAWLEY RYAN P. CRUMPLER With assistance from Sean McDonald, Drew Walter, Peter Kavanewsky, Ashley Alley, Anne Daugherty Miles, Nate Allen, and Abraham Kanter.               v vi PREFACE “The society that separates its scholars from its warriors will have its thinking done by cowards and its fighting done by fools.” Thucydides This report examines officer in-residence professional military education (PME) as a critical investment in the most important element of our military – people. The primary purpose of PME is to develop military officers, throughout their careers, for the rigorous intellectual demands of complex contingencies and major conflicts. The United States cannot afford to be complacent when it comes to producing leaders capable of meeting significant challenges, whether at the tactical, operational, or strategic levels of warfare. Military officers must think critically, communicate well, conduct themselves with integrity, and lead others to perform strenuous tasks in difficult and often dangerous situations. As a matter of national security, the country’s continuing investment in the PME system must be wisely made. In supporting the military, the Congress is responsible for providing funds, setting associated policy, and providing oversight to ensure that all military and Department of Defense civilian personnel are properly prepared to perform their missions. The House Armed Services Committee has long supported the members of the armed forces by providing oversight, guidance, and resources with respect to PME. The most notable effort was the landmark review conducted by Chairman Ike Skelton’s panel twenty years ago, which recommended comprehensive reform of the PME system.1 That Panel’s report stated: “Although many of its individual courses, programs, and faculties are excellent, the existing PME system must be improved to meet the needs of the modern profession at arms.” While this Subcommittee will not propose revolutionary changes as the Skelton Panel did, the current PME system should be improved to meet the country’s needs of today and tomorrow. Twenty years ago, the U.S. military was educating officers to engage Cold War adversaries. Clearly, much about our military and our world has changed since then, and we know that much will continue to change as we look to the future. PME, therefore, must remain dynamic. It must respond to present needs and consistently anticipate those of the future. It must continuously evolve in order to imbue service members with the intellectual agility to assume expanded roles and to perform new missions in an ever dynamic and increasingly complicated security environment. Other requirements are enduring and must be preserved. With respect to PME, Congress should regularly pose and assess these questions: How well is the nation educating its officers presently? And, what should be done to educate them more effectively in the future?                                                              1 U.S. Congress, House of Representatives, Committee on Armed Services, Report of the Panel on Military Education of the One Hundredth Congress, 101st Cong., 1st sess., 1989, No. 4, (The Skelton Report). vii viii

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Apr 8, 2010 professional military education (JPME) and joint duty assignments. both the first and second phases of joint education in one 10-month.
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Most books are stored in the elastic cloud where traffic is expensive. For this reason, we have a limit on daily download.