Heather Venable, James Greer, Korey Lantes, Paul Springer
Joint professional military education provides the best preparation for an unknown future by introducing students to a wide range of scenarios while grounding them in the importance of understanding unique contextual factors.
Currently, there are exactly zero members of the active-duty force who have engaged in peer-level conflict in which nations armed with the most advanced technology directly engage in conflict. While this type of conflict is least likely, the reality is that peer conflict poses a greater existential threat. This begs the question: if a nation does not have experience fighting a peer war, then how does one prepare for it? Joint professional military education (JPME) critically builds and enhances lethality and readiness across the joint force by grounding officers in the theory and history of war. Furthermore, JPME teaches officers about the capabilities and limitations of each warfighting domain which further supports their ability to apply this foundational learning to wargaming and joint planning in practical situations. Given the closing technology gap between the United States and China, JPME is one of the few areas in which the US possesses a clear advantage, making it essential for victory.
JPME has existed in the United States (US) since 1943. The need for educating officers in joint operations has only increased since then given the new domains of cyber and space as well as the rising importance of the electromagnetic spectrum. Indeed, this is the very idea underpinning the US military’s most important doctrinal development in recent decades as it seeks to integrate and coordinate action across multiple military and non-military environments. To make this complex doctrine successful in peer competition requires more thorough joint education than ever.
The Origins of Professional Military Education
Leaders have long recognized the importance of military education to victory. The Treaty of Versailles, for example, required Germany to shutter the doors of its staff officer school, the Kriegsakademie. The Prussians established the school after the costly losses at the battle of Jena-Auerstedt during the Napoleonic Wars. The Kriegsakademie resulted in the transformation of the German military into a highly effective institution in the ensuring years, such as during the wars of German unification between 1863 and 1871.
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