Staff and war college graduates play a pivotal role in the military. They must possess the skills necessary to employ the three steps of the military process, i.e.,
understand the task objectives correctly, analyze the available courses of action with accuracy to develop a plan,
and execute the plan with efficiency to meet the objectives. To prepare students for this challenge, professional military education (PME) should put more emphasis on practice than theory.
Students generally learn the military process in two parts. The first part is education in the art of warfare, its theory and historical analysis, besides application of research methodology in analytical writing.
The second part is (or should be) training to understand the art of warfare through rigorous practice by way of role-playing during map exercises. In this training, just like in war, the process is not bound by class schedules;
rather the exercise unfolds in a way that creates rigor and uncertainty for the students. The leadership, advising, and staff skills of the students are enhanced as they get to play different roles in varied scenarios.
But many PME courses tend towards the theoretical and academic. The trend of awarding a civilian degree in PME courses,
which are then subjected to a higher education regulatory body’s guideline, is perhaps the reason for “civilianizing” courses for military leaders at premier military institutes.
No comments:
Post a Comment