Leveraging Learning in Operational Environments: Lessons Learned from a Multinational Experience aboard USS George Washington during the Southern Seas 2024 Mission

Abstract

Professional military education (PME) serves to prepare individuals and teams to promote peace, deter aggression, lead in times of crisis, and prepare to adapt with purpose in volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous circumstances. Contemporary geopolitical conditions require global leaders to reinforce relations with allies and partners. PME is a platform on which multinational relationships and interoperability can develop and be strengthened. This article explores the roles of human factors in effective PME among a multinational cohort of military officers learning in an operational environment during the Southern Seas 2024 mission to advance partnerships and interoperability. Outcomes reported describe adult development and education methods that foster learning while attending to human factors that improve leader and team development among mid-career professional military officers in operational environments—the exact real-world environment in which PME graduates need to be prepared to excel, collaborate, and lead to win.