For those who have followed the links through the years here about the lost cause that is the American Historical Association and the larger problem of the teaching of military history - and military history PhD programs in the USA - you know the severity of the problem.
It isn't just the gutting of available positions in history departments, from your local community college to DOD, if you look at the areas of study of those who have a “PhD in history” - you realize that in many cases the degree has little meaning to military history except in the most tangential and useless way.
The broader area of history as it is taught and credentialed in the USA is just as bad, if not worse, than the sub-genre of military history.
What can be done, and is there someone trying to address the issue?
Take some time today to skip to the 37-minute mark and listen to former Senator Ben Sasse, now President of the University of Florida, on Jonah Goldberg’s podcast about what they are doing there and especially exciting, what the Hamilton Center is shaping up to be.
If you are looking for concrete action and an honest discussion about why it is important, this is about one of the best outlines of a problem and solution I’ve heard in awhile.
I came to Ohio State in 1995 to pursue a degree in Mil.Hist., but even then saw the writing on the wall, realized a life in Academia wasn't for me.
Sometimes I regret not staying.
Funny you should mention this, today of all days. A friend of mine is a military historian, and a damn good one. So of course the USAF Catch 22ed him into unemployment thanks to different people telling him different things and him picking the wrong faction for guidance.
Because he could not do the impossible, he failed his review.
And based on what he told me, it's not even that the wrong people will be teaching these classes, but that the right candidate doesn't exist so no one will be teaching them.