The Soldier-Scholar: Postsecondary Education of Future Military Officers

This session covers variation and patterns, commonalities and differences, vectors of convergence and vectors of divergence in the education of junior military officers. It gives practitioners and academics a platform to compare the approaches chosen around the world to educate future military cadre and address the challenges raised by a new and increasingly complex security environment. In addition, the session identifies emerging trends that will be shaping military education for the coming decades.

Specifically, this session compares pre-commissioning education of military officers across select allied and partner countries: its manifestation in individual states and collectively across allied states. The session posits a certain commonality in the education of future officers since the same skills are required across militaries to win on the complex modern battlefield: critical analysis, leadership ability, moral fortitude, etc. Still, distinct national differences emerge as to exactly what officership is, and that the geopolitical context in which officers are trained and will serve influences their education.

The common security environment and the different national situations create an appealing dynamic where academies face (in most regards) the same security challenges, but take different approaches to address them. This session investigate, analyze and understand the factors that drive the convergence and alignment of junior military education, and the divergence in approaches taken around the world.