Educating foreign officers

Joint Force Quarterly, Winter, 2002 by Douglas M. Gibler, Tomislav Z. Ruby

As one of the largest beneficiaries of professional military education with 331 graduates, Taiwan was able to democratize without a coup. These officers greatly influenced military courts and have been called upon to redress corruption in the armed forces. In 1985, a crime investigation led investigators to believe that the ring included military officers, and several senior members of the Military Intelligence Bureau were arrested and tried for murder. Although none had attended U.S. institutions, graduates were placed in command positions during the ensuing reorganization of the intelligence hierarchy. They were tasked with cleaning up the buleau. The role that graduates have played within the armed forces, and the removal of the military from political competition, suggests that professional military education is working on Taiwan.

The experiences of Argentina, Greece, and Taiwan bear witness to the benefits of the U.S. professional military education system. In addition, research supports this finding across all nations: the likelihood of coup attempts drops by more than half with the involvement of graduates, despite the strength of alliances, Cold War mindsets, and changes in wealth. The evidence of education as a stabilizing force is convincing.

Prior to World War II, Ecole Superieure de Guerre in France offered an elite experience for officers from many nations. It graduated professional, better-educated students who tended to become Francophiles after their year-long course. Today, the U.S. professional military education system is the standard by which other countries educate officers.

The United States has encouraged a greater number of officers from abroad to attend PME institutions as part of the global war on terrorism. The FY03 budget has projected a 27.5 percent growth in IMET funds over FY01 as well as a similar increase in the number of students. However, the traditional emphasis of professional military education institutions on democratic values should not be subsumed to the challenge of countering terrorism.

THE SCHOOLHOUSES

Each service operates professional military education institutions on the senior (war college) and intermediate (staff college) levels. In addition, the National Defense University administers three colleges under the authority of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The U.S. Army War College at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, was founded in 1901 and has graduated more than 700 international fellows from almost 100 nations since 1978. On the intermediate level, more than 6,000 officers from over 140 countries have attended the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, since the early 1900s. With some 90 students representing 75 countries per class, the college lists 23 alumni who have become heads of state in their respective countries.

The Naval War College was established at Newport, Rhode Island, in 1884. It operates two institutions for international officers, the Naval Command College and the Naval Staff College. The Naval Command College was organized in 1956 and parallels the College of Naval Warfare, which educates U.S. students. It has graduated more than 1,500 senior officers from almost 90 nations--over half of whom have reached flag rank and approximately one in ten have become chiefs of their navies. The Naval Staff College was established in 1973 and has graduated over 1,400 mid-level officers from some 120 nations. This institution is being integrated into the College of Naval Command and Staff, which is attended by U.S. students.