Ken Segelhorst
Author’s Note: I first published this article in 2022 on West Point’s Center for Junior Officers (CJO) website. After retiring in 2024, I published multiple articles for other publications exposing systemic issues at West Point and the other service academies. These included “Gen Z Goes to West Point” (2025), “Cheating Without Consequences” (2025), and “Army-Navy Game: Celebrating Tradition While Concealing a Crisis” (2024). Consequently, CJO removed this piece along with “The Commissioning Ceremony: Planning a Meaningful and Memorable Event” from its website and social media. Despite repeated requests, neither CJO nor the Academy has provided any explanation. I’m republishing “How to Succeed in Professional Military Education” with SOFREP so it can once again serve as a resource for members of the profession.
It Started With a Question. It was a conversation I had several times as an assistant professor at the United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point. First-class cadets, mere months or even weeks from graduating, would approach me with questions on how to succeed at the Basic Officer Leader Course (BOLC). These cadets, having read my instructor biography, knew that I had performed well in my professional military education (PME) and wanted to know my “secret to success” for such courses.
Unfortunately, I was never able to provide these cadets with a comprehensive answer. The fact is that I never went into one of these courses with the intent of graduating at the head of the class, let alone with a plan to do so. Rather, in most cases, I simply hoped to graduate alongside my classmates.
As my time at West Point came to an end, I finally found the time to look back and deliberately reflect on what made me successful in my PME courses. Through that reflection, I was able to identify several common characteristics, some conceptual and some more practical, that I believe contributed to my success. I share these now in hopes that all officers – commissioned, warrant, and noncommissioned – can apply them to succeed in their PME, both for themselves and the young men and women they will lead throughout their careers.
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