A Centennial History of the US Army War College

Parameters, Autumn, 2001 by Samuel J. Newland

Since the Cold War ended in the late 1980s, change has been in the air at the Army's preeminent educational institution, the US Army War College. The most significant change affecting the Army and the nation it serves has been the rapid disappearance of the bipolar world and the return of a multipolar focus. To address this monumental change and how the Army should defend the nation and its interests in the future, the War College's curriculum has been expanded to encompass topics such as the Revolution in Military Affairs, the Army After Next, Force XXI, and Army Transformation. These topics and others relating to the future of the force have become the focus of the seminar learning model at the Army War College. The possibilities and implications of such changes, whether in doctrine, technology, or both have been repeatedly examined by their apostles and detractors, often passionately. It is fitting that such discussions related to the transformation of military forces are occurring at this institution, fo unded one hundred years ago as a product of another era of revolutionary and evolutionary changes in military affairs. [1]

The origins of the US Army War College are found in the period of reevaluation of the US military following the Spanish-American War. While the United States, an emerging industrial giant, had easily defeated the Spanish, some elements of the war's conduct brought criticism of the war and the military that was often bitter. [2] In particular, the operations of the commissary department in supplying troops, the inadequate rations provided to American soldiers, and the casualties from illnesses caused President William McKinley to order a broad inquiry--the Dodge Commission--into the conduct of the war. When the results of this commission were deemed inadequate at best, President McKinley appointed a prominent attorney, Elihu Root--a man without any military connections--to be Secretary of War.

Secretary Root initially faced the problem of concluding military actions in America's newly acquired territories and providing governance for them. It soon became apparent to him that the nation's military forces would require a significant reorganization to prepare them for the demands of the 20th century. Among the reforms he proposed was the creation of an Army General Staff, led by a Chief of Staff, and an Army War College, which could advise the President, devise plans, acquire information, and direct the "intellectual exercise" of the Army. Before the actual establishment of such an institution, Root appointed a board of officers, led by Brigadier General William Ludlow, to explore the concept and make recommendations. Following the board's study, on 27 November 1901 Secretary Root established a War College Board by General Order 155. [3] Major General Samuel B. M. Young was appointed to lead the board. Although the War College was yet to begin operations, this board was responsible for overseeing the system of progressive officer education established by the general order. Thus, General Young receives the distinction of being the first War College President.

The "First" Army War College

The War College actually began to function with the passage of the General Staff Act of 1903, which in essence made the institution an adjunct to the War Department General Staff, a key concept in Root's military reforms. Under the provisions of the 1903 act, General Young became the Army's first Chief of Staff and Brigadier General Tasker Bliss assumed the position of President of the Army War College. At this early stage of the college's development, the initial functions of the General Staff and the War College were closely linked by the primary mission of preparing for the creation of a General Staff Corps for the Army. With this mission in mind, on 1 November 1904 the first War College class, consisting of six captains and three majors, began their studies at a temporary "campus" located at Jackson Place in Washington, D.C., across from the White House. As one ascends the steps leading to today's Root Hall, the names of those original students, the faculty, and the War College Board are listed on a bron ze plaque affixed to the first pillar on the right.

The college would not get a real campus befitting such an institution until June 1907, when it moved to Theodore Roosevelt Hall at Washington Barracks, located on the Army facility now called Fort McNair. When the cornerstone of this resplendent structure was laid in February 1903, Elihu Root's comments provided clearly and succinctly the guiding principles of the institution. The purpose of the War College, according to the founder, was "not to promote war, but to preserve peace by the intelligent and adequate preparation to repel aggression." Furthermore, he went on to state that in order to achieve this goal, the college and its students should be required to "study and confer on the great problems of national defense, of military science, and of responsible command." These goals, though now 100 years old, remain relevant and appropriate for today's students and continue to provide direction for studies at the Army War College.