Unification and Collocation of the Army War College and the Command and General Staff Officer's Course

Abstract

Abstract : The current Army drawdown and mandated budget cuts force examination of our paradigms in almost every area of defense. Only with a through look at the way we do business and why we do what we do will we achieve economies that allow us to maintain a trained and ready force in an era of shrinking resources. An obvious question that begs scrutiny is should we consolidate the Army War College (AWC) and the Command and General Staff College (CGSOC)? Do the obvious savings in faculty, library, school support and base operations that result from consolidation offset the advantages of the current geographical separation of the two schools? This study examines the historical evolution of senior officer education in the Army, the recommendations of the Panel on Military Education of the House Armed Services Committee, Navy and Air Force professional senior officer education, and recent Army studies in an attempt to determine if the unification of the AWC and the CGSOC under one command structure or if collocation of the schools would achieve cost savings without a degradation of the education officers' currently receive at those institutions. The author concludes that the Nation and Army are best served with an AWC that develops senior leaders prepared to operate at the strategic level in today's world and a CGSOC that develops leaders prepared to operate in a joint tactical and operational environment. These colleges are ideally located separately at Carlisle and Leavenworth. The current command structure is sound; the AWC as a Field Operating Agency of the DCSOPS and the CGSOC subordinate to TRADOC.