Major General Stephen Maranian Discusses Officer Professional Military Education in the United States Army

As Major General Stephen Maranian knows, the professional development of officers in an army is vital to its effectiveness. A combination of training, education, and practical experience, leader development takes many forms and continues for the entire tenure of an officer’s time in uniform.

Professional Military Education (PME) refers to the periodic professional schooling of military personnel at critical points in their career and is an essential component of leader development. It is something that the United States Army does very well and is a hallmark of its Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC). Professional Military Education includes both officer and non-commissioned officer development. Both have similar approaches.

What is common to both is the cyclical nature of attendance at PME courses at critical points in an officer or soldier’s career. Below we will examine Officer PME.

Early Officer Education

Professional Military Education for most officers begins with their commissioning source, either at the United States Military Academy or through the Reserve Officer’s Training Program (ROTC) at a civilian university. Following commissioning, officers attend branch-related training at various TRADOC installations in the United States. Depending on the officer’s specialty, branch and follow-on training may last several months.

Once an officer is selected for promotion to the rank of Captain, they typically return to their branch school for the Captain’s Career Course, again, typically several months in duration. Both of these courses focus on ensuring that officers are tactically proficient in their specialty.

Intermediate Level Education

As officers are selected to the rank of Major, most will attend the Command and General Staff Officers Course (CGSOC) at Fort Leavenworth, at a satellite campus, or via distributed learning. The CGSOC provides Intermediate Level Education (ILE) for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military officers. Resident CGSOC is a ten-month graduate-level program and the curriculum includes instruction on leadership philosophy, military history, and the military planning and decision-making processes.

Approximately 10% of CGSOC graduates will remain at Fort Leavenworth for a second year to attend the School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS). According to Stephen Marianian, the SAMS program provides instruction on complex military issues at the strategic and operational levels. Students graduate with a Masters of Military Arts and Sciences degree and go on to serve a utilization assignment as high-level military planners.

Senior Level Education

At approximately 20 years of commissioned service, approximately half of the officer population is selected to attend a Senior Service College. This selection is typically in close succession with selection for promotion to the rank of Colonel. Most officers attend the U.S. Army War College, however many are selected for fellowships or attend either a sister service’s war college or one of the National Defense University’s colleges. The Army War College provides graduate-level instruction to prepare officers for senior leadership assignments and service at the strategic level.  At both the War College and the CGSOC, says Stephen Maranian, officers spend considerable time studying joint (multi-service) topics. This Joint PME is paramount to an officer’s overall development and is mandated by the Department of Defense.

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