Sal, but keep it (NWC) open so civilians, internationals, Army, Air Force, etc can attend & learn about sea power & other two thirds of globe! It is still the best place in US for neophytes to learn basics of sea power.
I’m but a mere CGSC grad but admire a good historical example of application of professional military education….found this pearl among swine…War Room: US Army War College…Jonathan Klug , 16 Jan 2020….”Strategy Shaving with a Blowtorch “……isn’t this what Senior Service Colleges SHOULD BE DOING?
After he commanded the Lexington, King attended the Naval War College. In preparation for the annual wargame between the U.S. Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy, the Department Head offered King the command of the U.S. Pacific Fleet if he followed the War College President’s desired route of attack. Characteristically, King replied “if ordered to use the wrong solution he would gladly do so…rather than miss the chance to command such a fleet.” King proved his abilities as a fleet commander during the war game but, as he often did, made life difficult for his superiors, especially when he was told how to do something rather than just what to do.
King’s strategic insight and ability to successfully argue against conventional wisdom and with senior leaders later proved to be essential when he was a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Combined Chiefs of Staff. In these roles, he often fought with other members of the U.S. Chiefs of Staff as well as the British Chiefs of Staff Committee to secure more resources for the Pacific War. He irritated President Franklin D. Roosevelt on a few occasions, sometimes argued with Secretary of the Navy William Franklin Knox, and routinely fought with Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal. During strategic debates with the British, he even crossed verbal swords one of the most formidable statesmen and strategists of World War II Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill, often successfully. King won many of these strategic arguments, and the historical record shows he was right far more often than he was wrong.
Was stationed in Newport in 1966-67 on a Destroyer Escort. My focus was never on the NWC. The only allure that Coaster's Island had for us sailors under the age of 21 was the the beer hall where ID cards were never checked and the weak, watery draft Narragansett beer was served in pitchers with plastic cups. It wasn't good beer but it was always cold and most important, cheap and available. Everything is cold in Newport for 11 months out of 12.
You mentioned lunch and a coffee break, Commander, but I didn't see any info on what was offered. Might have been instructive to know who catered lunch and what was on the menu. Grilled Spam and Velvetta sandwiches and Waldorf salad, soyburgers and Tater Tots from the chow hall? Hazelnut de-caf coffee in one of those 60 cup aluminum coffee makers made by an unsupervised drilling USNR(TAR) Seaman Apprentice? I was always Regular Navy but as a newly arrived RDSA made my first 20 cup pot of coffee aboard that DE only after I scoured the pot with Comet Cleanser. Sanitation being important. Amazing how you try to do the right thing and the outcome can be so horrid. Might be the same way with the NWC. Except that my reward was scouring the forward head till I became an RD2. I am a small details, minutia guy. But for neglecting the lunch and coffee aspects the article nicely pinned the junebug to the specimen board.
We've known for quite awhile that even our military graduate schools, are not bastions of conservative thought, let alone beacons of intellectual military theory. I recall hearing Victor Davis Hansen, speak about the time he was a guest lecturer at USNA, and was shocked at how many of the facility and the various course being taught, were....not what he'd expected from a school that's supposed to prepare future leaders for maritime conflict, instead more consumed with modern esoteric humanity questions and theoretical.
Its safe to say, that if you're in the academic field, regardless of capacity, location or, service, you've likely fallen in-line with the prevailing throught and dogma of the time, and low be the person that challenges the orthodoxy of academic accreditation and certification nationwide.
Col Kurt Schlichter always talks about his partying while at the Army War College. It seems that it's a far more serious venue than NAVWARCOL these days.
As Brad Miller has stated, we have and continue to suffer a “moral injury”. Simply put, we are disgusted with the current leadership, we have suffered injury and continue to do so and we demand reform.
As someone else once observed, "We need new elites".
Sal, but keep it (NWC) open so civilians, internationals, Army, Air Force, etc can attend & learn about sea power & other two thirds of globe! It is still the best place in US for neophytes to learn basics of sea power.
Best
John T Kuehn
Incumbent FADM King Professor
Naval War College
(They haven’t found a replacement for me yet!)
Fort Leavenworth Kansas
It needed saying. Although this is likely to create a therapy dog billet at NWC.
They ae prepping the area for the nomination of the first testosterones free CNO. All hail our new Leader!
As for your critical topics list how about
"Getting Acquisition Right!"
- how do we figure out what our critical missions are? (Clue: fighting sexism is not on the list)
- What kinds of ships we need?
- how do we build high quality ships, that work, on time and under budget?
I’m but a mere CGSC grad but admire a good historical example of application of professional military education….found this pearl among swine…War Room: US Army War College…Jonathan Klug , 16 Jan 2020….”Strategy Shaving with a Blowtorch “……isn’t this what Senior Service Colleges SHOULD BE DOING?
After he commanded the Lexington, King attended the Naval War College. In preparation for the annual wargame between the U.S. Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy, the Department Head offered King the command of the U.S. Pacific Fleet if he followed the War College President’s desired route of attack. Characteristically, King replied “if ordered to use the wrong solution he would gladly do so…rather than miss the chance to command such a fleet.” King proved his abilities as a fleet commander during the war game but, as he often did, made life difficult for his superiors, especially when he was told how to do something rather than just what to do.
King’s strategic insight and ability to successfully argue against conventional wisdom and with senior leaders later proved to be essential when he was a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Combined Chiefs of Staff. In these roles, he often fought with other members of the U.S. Chiefs of Staff as well as the British Chiefs of Staff Committee to secure more resources for the Pacific War. He irritated President Franklin D. Roosevelt on a few occasions, sometimes argued with Secretary of the Navy William Franklin Knox, and routinely fought with Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal. During strategic debates with the British, he even crossed verbal swords one of the most formidable statesmen and strategists of World War II Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill, often successfully. King won many of these strategic arguments, and the historical record shows he was right far more often than he was wrong.
Your list of issues (always) misses officer recruitment, education, and training. NWC breathes fire compared to USNA.
Was stationed in Newport in 1966-67 on a Destroyer Escort. My focus was never on the NWC. The only allure that Coaster's Island had for us sailors under the age of 21 was the the beer hall where ID cards were never checked and the weak, watery draft Narragansett beer was served in pitchers with plastic cups. It wasn't good beer but it was always cold and most important, cheap and available. Everything is cold in Newport for 11 months out of 12.
You mentioned lunch and a coffee break, Commander, but I didn't see any info on what was offered. Might have been instructive to know who catered lunch and what was on the menu. Grilled Spam and Velvetta sandwiches and Waldorf salad, soyburgers and Tater Tots from the chow hall? Hazelnut de-caf coffee in one of those 60 cup aluminum coffee makers made by an unsupervised drilling USNR(TAR) Seaman Apprentice? I was always Regular Navy but as a newly arrived RDSA made my first 20 cup pot of coffee aboard that DE only after I scoured the pot with Comet Cleanser. Sanitation being important. Amazing how you try to do the right thing and the outcome can be so horrid. Might be the same way with the NWC. Except that my reward was scouring the forward head till I became an RD2. I am a small details, minutia guy. But for neglecting the lunch and coffee aspects the article nicely pinned the junebug to the specimen board.
We've known for quite awhile that even our military graduate schools, are not bastions of conservative thought, let alone beacons of intellectual military theory. I recall hearing Victor Davis Hansen, speak about the time he was a guest lecturer at USNA, and was shocked at how many of the facility and the various course being taught, were....not what he'd expected from a school that's supposed to prepare future leaders for maritime conflict, instead more consumed with modern esoteric humanity questions and theoretical.
Its safe to say, that if you're in the academic field, regardless of capacity, location or, service, you've likely fallen in-line with the prevailing throught and dogma of the time, and low be the person that challenges the orthodoxy of academic accreditation and certification nationwide.
Wonder if they had a drag queen show during the evening social?
Inspirational stuff... overcome by waves of nostalgia.
Col Kurt Schlichter always talks about his partying while at the Army War College. It seems that it's a far more serious venue than NAVWARCOL these days.
I hear this rockstar woman has recently freed up her calendar and will be the keynote speaker at the conference...
https://twitter.com/CollinRugg_/status/1651154652212150273?s=20
2X NWC graduate (1973 and 1984). This is incredible (in a very bad way). I assume that this sort of drivel is being driven from the top.
As Brad Miller has stated, we have and continue to suffer a “moral injury”. Simply put, we are disgusted with the current leadership, we have suffered injury and continue to do so and we demand reform.
https://bradmiller10.substack.com/p/moral-injury
This is what happens when the institutions become corrupt.
I had a senior Chief I worked for a few years back comment that all this tolerance stuff was basically saying don’t be an asshole to people.
Though I already knew the answer, I had to ask the question:
“If that’s what they mean, why would they need to throw a word salad at us?”
Again, I knew the answer.
Timely
https://centerforsecuritypolicy.org/the-us-marine-corps-missing-in-action/