The Military Man in Academia

In: The annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Volume 406, p. 129-145

Abstract

The officer educ system is in a period of overdue, dynamic change in military curricular substance & approach. Although departures from time-tested procedures are not generally welcomed in the military, this is a time of serious introspection for the armed services. They are prepared to innovate. The challenge to the officer educ system is to produce the required number of officers with expertise in the manag & application of military resources in deterrent, peacekeeping, advisory, & combat roles in the context of rapid technological, soc & pol'al change. This educ'al system must provide training to develop specific skills & military professionalism; it must also develop broadly applicable analytical skills & critical judgment. The officer educ system can define the parameters of the former far more closely than the latter. It is time for an overall assessment of training requirements for the future based upon the tasks the nation wants its military to perform & a forecast of technological change. Equally important, it is time for an assessment of the values which the nation wishes its military officers to hold & development of personnel manag systems which facilitate educ designed to produce & promote imaginative officers capable of balanced judgment concerning issues of priorities & trade-offs among resources & values. HA.