Suchergebnisse

The 2018 United States (US) National Military Strategy claimed that professional military education (PME) in the US had 'stagnated'. Since then the 2020 US Joint Chiefs of Staff publication Developing Today's Joint Officer's for Tomorrow's Ways of War can be seen as a direct response to such stagnation. The associated temporal positionings of war from stagnation, to today's officers, to tomorrow's ways of war, reinforce the significance of wartime in how professional military education is framed. In this paper I ask: To what extent do professional military education mission statements rely on frames of wartime for a construction of purpose, what are the implications of such framings for goals of minimizing violence and suffering, and how may such potential limitations be addressed in the classroom? A focus on wartime can help us draw out significant strategic and ethical challenges of conflict termination alongside 'forever wars', the normalization of exceptional security practices and violence, and the way in which prioritizations of either doing war 'better' or minimizing the likelihood of war are in seemingly direct epistemological competition. Given a goal of less insecurity, in an era in which fewer and fewer wars actually 'end' or 'end' with a sense of victory, I assess the extent to which engaging critical approaches in PME may help or hinder the need to challenge self-propagating dynamics of wartime that may be limiting efforts at lessening violence.

This study was conducted by the USAF Occupational Measurement Center to help validate the curriculum of Air Force officer pre-and postcommissioning professional military education (PME). More than 10,000 officers, from lieutenant through colonel, were surveyed to gather data on (1) leadership, management, and communication tasks performed; (2) the relative difficulty of those tasks; (3) perceptions of need of various PME topics for job and career; and (4) perceptions of benefits from PME. In general, tasks and topics related to commuication skills were rated as most performed and most needed, respectively; military and defense-related topics as the least needed. Perceptions of benefits from PME courses were mixed, but the greatest benefits were received in residence PME programs. Based on the survey data, there is sufficient rationale for the continuation of a multiphased PME program. Further, the various data provided will assist planners and evaluators in developing PME curricula and evaluating their effectiveness in meeting the professional needs of Air Force officers.

Results of a study of pre- and postcommissioning education in the US Air Force. Courses covering communication skills, military conduct, leadership, and defense studies.

In a study conducted by the US Air Force (USAF) Occupational Measurement Center to help validate the curriculum of USAF officer pre- & postcommissioning professional military education (PME), 10,000+ officers, from lieutenant through colonel, were surveyed to gather data on: (1) leadership, management, & communication tasks performed; (2) relative difficulty of those tasks; (3) perceptions of need of various PME topics for job & career; & (4) perceptions of benefits from PME. In general, tasks & topics related to communication skills were rated as most performed & most needed, respectively, & military- & defense-related topics as least needed. Perceptions of benefits from PME courses were mixed, but the greatest benefits were received in residence PME programs. The results provide sufficient rationale for continuation of a multiphased PME program. Further, the findings will assist planners & evaluators in developing PME curricula & evaluating their effectiveness in meeting the professional needs of USAF officers. HA