This qualitative study used a historical research method to eliminate the gap in the historical knowledge of Air Command and Staff College (ACSC) curriculum evolution in the post-Cold War era. This study is the only known analysis of the forces that influenced the ACSC curriculum and the rationale behind curricular change at ACSC in the post-Cold War era from the publication of the Skelton Report to the present. Data for this study were gathered through personal interviews with past and present members of the ACSC faculty and leadership, and review of published and unpublished historical ACSC curriculum documents. Research for this study revealed that the ACSC curriculum was continually in flux during this time period. At no time did the ACSC curriculum remain exactly the same as the previous academic year. The curriculum was responsive to external and internal influences. External influences were the Skelton Report, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Department of Defense, the Air University Commander, and world events. Internal influences include the ACSC Commandant and the ACSC faculty. The most significant and radical changes to the ACSC curriculum originated with those individuals or groups of individuals in positions of authority over military education institutions, primarily the Skelton Panel, Chiefs of Staff of the Air Force, and ACSC Commandants. Many minor changes were made to the ACSC curriculum during this time. Significant curricular changes made were not lasting changes. New leadership at times eliminated all or large parts of the curriculum they inherited because of personal preference. The ACSC curriculum is therefore subject to potential cyclical curricular change coinciding with changes in military leadership, which averages every two years. This study concludes that the ACSC curriculum changed often, sometimes significantly, in the post Cold War era. The frequent curricular change frustrated many faculty members and led to periods of turmoil within ACSC. ACSC is not likely to realize a period of curriculum stability until the Air Force places limits on the scope of curricular change its leaders are allowed to make at ACSC without approval and considers assigning professional educators to leadership roles in its Professional Military Education institutions. This study recommends that the Air Force consider placing a system of checks and balances on the ability of ACSC Commandants to reinvent the curriculum and placing professional educators in the positions of Air University Commander and ACSC Commandant in order to slow the rate of curricular change and bring a level of stability to the ACSC curriculum.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of History / Donald J. Mrozek / This dissertation examines the development of the professional military studies curriculum at the United States Air Force Academy. The study explores the rationale behind establishing an Air Force Academy, along the lines similar to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point or the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis. The quest for an additional academy emphasized the need for specialized training of air force cadets and creating a common bond for its future officer corps, rather than recognizing the necessity to equip them with a professional military education regarding warfare and how air power influences war, for example. This trend continued in the two main studies used to justify the Air Force Academy, as well as the development of the initial curriculum, where an integrated academic curriculum, one that emphasized both the sciences and engineering as well as the social sciences and humanities, placed any discussion of professional military studies on the back burner. The challenge of the Academy’s general academic curriculum on the cadet’s time left little room for the development of a strong, rigorous professional military studies program. However, the confluence of a cheating scandal at West Point and the resulting report, as well as a reflection during the 25th anniversary of the Academy’s founding in 1979, which developed questions on the professional military studies program within the curriculum, led to the establishment of a Permanent Professor within the Deputy Commandant for Military Instruction, and resulted in drastic changes to the curriculum for the cadets, specifically involving professional military studies. Today, the United States Air Force Academy has a Department of Military and Strategic Studies under the overall authority of the Dean of Faculty. This department has as its charter the role to provide “the study of the context, theory, and application of military power”—with special emphasis on the role of airpower to the art and science of war. The document that helps define the duty of the department also states that this necessary study for officer candidates constitutes “the essence of a military academy education” and, most certainly, the central core of a professional military studies program.

Professional military education is a well‐established system in most modern militaries. Like all things though, incremental and ad hoc improvements to legacy approaches typically lead to reduced quality. It is therefore, essential to periodically review the entire system for holistic effectiveness. For military education, this need is particularly important when the global security environment is experiencing such rapid change. Added to this is the emerging understanding of the ‘new sciences’ that provides a unique opportunity to improve cognitive agility when confronting complex adaptive systems. There is also an urgent need to acknowledge and enhance the intangible dimension of professional military education beyond mere content‐centric subject expertise. From the literature on hidden learning and constructivism, there are a number of opportunities available for modernizing the legacy paradigm of professional military education. This study investigated the role of holistic learning (formal, non‐formal, informal, selfdirected, and incidental learning) in the professional development of 29 mid‐career military officers. It involved detailed study of their participation on the seven‐month staff course at the New Zealand Defence College from May to December 2008. Mixed methodology data collection included observations, interviews, questionnaires, focus groups, and document analysis. Analytic procedures ranged from statistical comparisons through to qualitative theme constructs. The study found a number of dimensions (sources and influences) contributing to holistic learning. It also identified a number of opportunities to improve the learning experience. The findings identify a number of important factors in developing strategic artists. Of these, the greatest need is for a strategic plan to extend the current content‐centric syllabus into a full curriculum with intangible traits clearly linked to formal and informal learning activities. Specific components required in this strategic plan include an academic philosophy and a cross‐referencing matrix. The study also recommends reviewing time allocated to cross‐discipline learning of the profession and cognitive agility focused on deep learning. There is also a need to re‐examine the directing staff requirements, management of learner stress, and shaping practical‐value motivation strategies through cultural artefacts. Collectively, the findings recommend shifting from the traditional vessel‐filling paradigm of formal courses to a sociological approach of growing strategic leaders.

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2011. / The changing external environment of the security sector and higher education influences the South African Military Academy (SAMA) as an institution within the broader Department of Defence, which is also associated with Stellenbosch University (SU) through the SAMA’s Faculty of Military Science (FMS). Graduates of the SAMA operate mostly within this changing security environment where their abilities and competencies are required. The research problem investigates the triggers that will initiate change and the drivers that will bring about paradigm shifts on the SAMA as an institution that delivers graduates for a changing security environment. The research question is to forecast an ideal SAMA in the year 2030. This ideal comes forth from critical analyses of current literature and qualitative data collected from experts through the Delphi technique. Sub-questions of the research question includes the programme content of the academic and military training programmes, the profile of the academic and administrative personnel, the student profile upon entering and exiting the SAMA, the organisational structure required, the infrastructure and finally the financial model. Furthermore, triggers and drivers identify actions to bring about change and critical success factors determine the requirements to achieve an ideal SAMA in 2030. The SAMA is a unique military unit that houses the only Faculty of Military Science in Southern Africa. The research report will empower decision-makers in the DOD and SU, including the unit members of the SAMA, to identify the triggers that will precipitate a coming change and properly manage the drivers pressuring change from the perspective of functionality, politics and society.

Master of Arts / Department of History / Michael A. Ramsay / Immediately after World War I, the Commandant of the United States Marine Corps implemented an officer education program. Called the Marine Corps Schools (MCS), the Commandant, Major General John A. Lejeune, gave the schools the mission of educating officers throughout their career. MCS struggled during its first decade of existence due to operational tempo and a poor curriculum. The direction of MCS changed greatly with the assignment of James Carson Breckinridge as the commanding officer in 1928. The purpose of this thesis is to examine the role Breckinridge, an unconventional and intellectual officer, played in reviving the MCS and turning it into the authority on Small Wars and Amphibious Operations. It will show that Breckinridge, drawing on observations made of college education systems, focused the Marine Corps Schools on the task of teaching officers to analyze problems and find solutions and not rely on memorized book answers.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of History / Donald J. Mrozek / This dissertation examines the development of the professional military studies curriculum at the United States Air Force Academy. The study explores the rationale behind establishing an Air Force Academy, along the lines similar to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point or the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis. The quest for an additional academy emphasized the need for specialized training of air force cadets and creating a common bond for its future officer corps, rather than recognizing the necessity to equip them with a professional military education regarding warfare and how air power influences war, for example. This trend continued in the two main studies used to justify the Air Force Academy, as well as the development of the initial curriculum, where an integrated academic curriculum, one that emphasized both the sciences and engineering as well as the social sciences and humanities, placed any discussion of professional military studies on the back burner. The challenge of the Academy’s general academic curriculum on the cadet’s time left little room for the development of a strong, rigorous professional military studies program. However, the confluence of a cheating scandal at West Point and the resulting report, as well as a reflection during the 25th anniversary of the Academy’s founding in 1979, which developed questions on the professional military studies program within the curriculum, led to the establishment of a Permanent Professor within the Deputy Commandant for Military Instruction, and resulted in drastic changes to the curriculum for the cadets, specifically involving professional military studies. Today, the United States Air Force Academy has a Department of Military and Strategic Studies under the overall authority of the Dean of Faculty. This department has as its charter the role to provide “the study of the context, theory, and application of military power”—with special emphasis on the role of airpower to the art and science of war. The document that helps define the duty of the department also states that this necessary study for officer candidates constitutes “the essence of a military academy education” and, most certainly, the central core of a professional military studies program.

No description available.

Defensive cooperation between member states is considered an integral part on the EU agenda. Yet, despite the evident demand for integrative defensive mechanisms at the EU level, there appears to be no consensus on how military personnel should be trained. In order to bridge the national barriers, the field of Professional Military Education offers an internationalized space that lends itself to comparison. While the PME literature on officer education often touts adaptability and quality assurance as critical components – there are no descriptions on which processes facilitate these components. The purpose and aims of this study were to address the lack of information within the field of PME regarding which processes underpin and sustain quality assurance. Subsequently, the field of implementation research was investigated. Special attention was given to the Core Implementation Components Model which was used to analyze the regulatory documents of two institutions, the Swedish Defence University (SEDU) and the Theresian Military Academy (TMA), which handle parts of PME within their respective national contexts. Using a qualitative methodological approach, the case study found that while some operationalized variables can be found, the regulatory documents exhibit different ratios of variables. SEDU documents exhibit less descriptive matches, while TMA yield more. Neither sets of regulatory documents display the variable coaching. The results of the modelling and analysis has 1) shown that the use of the Core Implementation Components Model performs well for analysis of quality assurance processes within the field of PME, and 2) are presented such that they can be used as support for future studies.

This thesis contributes to our understanding of cognitive interoperability by explor-ing barriers, facilitators, and contextual factors to create a framework. With the ad-vent of the cognitive domain in warfighting, the adversary pursuit of military strate-gic advantage through cognitive science demands that we seize the initiative and seek cognitive superiority with allies and partners. Prior research acknowledges the importance of human interoperability but is limited to singular studies at the opera-tional and national level. This thesis shifts focus to the military strategic and multi-national level to uncover cognitive and cultural inhibitors and enablers of cognitive interoperability. The empirical data is drawn from a distinct case study that examines senior military officers during a combined exercise. The analysis explores compe-tencies that foster strategic empathy and collective intentionality with identity and human connectivity as major catalysts. Individuals are agents who collectively con-struct cognitive interoperability, setting conditions for cognitive dominance in future military competition.