Fort Leavenworth and its education legacy; recommendations for ILE.
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Fort Leavenworth and its education legacy; recommendations for ILE.
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In its 130 years of service to the US Army, CGSC transitioned numerous times as an academic center of officer learning. In its early years, the Applicatory School of Cavalry and Infantry, was known derisively as the "kindergarten" where lieutenants learned the basics of soldiering as well as math and English. Later, during the First World War, "Leavenworth Men" were sought out to fill primary staff positions within division, corps, and army headquarters, leading the US Army to success on the battlefields of France. During the interwar years, the Command and General Staff School, refined its applicatory instructional method and was responsible for educating thirty-three of thirty-four corps commanders who lead the US Army during World War II. Many of the Army's well know leaders during the Second World War, names like Eisenhower, Patton, and Taylor, later commented on their positive experiences at Fort Leavenworth and the tactical education they received. Following the Second World War, the College changed. Requirements for officers to serve in higher echelon headquarters resulted in an expansion of the curriculum to include joint, interagency, and inter-governmental topics. During this period of change, tactical and doctrinal instruction was reduced, changing the dynamic of education, where tactics was no longer preeminent. Additionally, Fort Leavenworth adopted a collegiate philosophy, changing its mythology of teaching from instruction to education. The adoption of ILE returned some of the tactical instruction focus, but not to the level experienced by the officer corps during the interwar era. This monograph, using a historical narrative, reviews the education of mid-grade officers at Fort Leavenworth during two eras of instruction, divided by the Second World War. Using the criteria of student and instructor selection, teaching methodologies, and curriculum, it reviews both eras and makes recommendations to refine the current ILE curriculum to enhance the level of tactical education received by Fort Leavenworth graduates. These recommendations focus on returning the prestige of the school, once known for tactical excellence to a position of prominence in the Army education system.
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