The United States Army War College is a United States Army school located in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, on the 500 acre (2 km²) campus of the historic Carlisle Barracks. It caters to high-level military personnel and civilians and prepares them for strategic leadership responsibilities.
As the Army's most senior military educational institution, it provides a function similar to that of the Naval War College and Air War College, each an academic institution administered by a sister service of the United States Military, and trains colonels or lieutenant colonels who are board selected for admission.
The War College is a split-functional institution. While a great deal of emphasis is placed on research, students are also instructed in leadership, strategy, and joint-service/international operations. Approximately 600 students attend at any one time, half in a two-year-long Internet-based program, and the other half in an on-campus program lasting ten months. The college grants its graduates, both civilian and military, a master's degree in Strategic Studies.
The Army handpicks most of the students who participate in the residential program, but the student body always includes officers from the other military branches, civilians (from the Pentagon, State Department, and the National Security Agency), and several dozen senior officers from foreign countries. For example, the residential Class of 2004 included:
- 268 officers from the Army (active, Reserve, National Guard), Navy (active, Reserve), Air Force (active, Reserve, National Guard), Marine Corps (active, Reserve) and Coast Guard;
- 30 senior civilian employees of the federal government; and
- 42 officers from other countries.
Majors with the specialty of FA 59, Strategic Plans and Policy can attend the Basic Strategic Arts Program (BSAP). Army applicants must have already completed the U. S. Army Command and General Staff College (where they receive training after achieving the rank of Major).
Read more about United States Army War College: Mission, History, Basic Strategic Art Program, Center For Strategic Leadership, Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute, PKSOI Stability Operations Lessons Learned Information Management System (SOLLIMS), Notable Alumni
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