PROFESSIONALIZATION IN PEACETIME : the Origins of PME in the Post Civil War Period
Abstract
The Civil War revealed significant shortcomings in the professionalism of the American officer corps and the cost of putting laymen at the helm of command. After the war, both services faced budget cuts and indifference to their proposed reforms. Nevertheless, visionaries like Stephen Luce and Emory Upton championed transformations within the army and navy that reshaped the services. They helped to establish new institutions of professional military educationthe Naval War College and the schools of application at Fort Leavenworthwhich represented both services attempts to answer the challenges they were facing. Yet the two approaches to PME were in fact remarkably different: the army focused on tactics and practical training, while the navy sought to broaden officers strategic and historical horizons. This essay demonstrates the ways in which the particular circumstances of their founding and the character of the key reformers shaped the origins of PME in the United States.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 09, 2020
- Accession Number
- AD1101735
Entities
People
- Mary Hossier
Organizations
- Naval War College