<p>Interesting article about the relevance of curricula at USNA and USMA to modern warfare.</p>
<p>Are U.S. Military Academies Preparing Graduates for Today's Wars?</p>
<p>Interesting.</p>
<p>It's a long-known maxim that the military always prepares for the last war rather than the next one. Sadly, the pace of change has become such that the maxim must be discarded or there won't be a nation for the military to defend anymore.</p>
<p>I still believe that the hard sciences are essential in today's world due to the incredible technologies being employed. However, (and I'm speaking with the perspective of the curriculum in my day), some more "practical" courses should be added. The one that has affected me most directly would be applied statistics for use in data analysis and process improvement. Throw in the strategic languages as mentioned in the article, as well as other appropriate courses, and the improvements should be readily apparent.</p>
<p>I sometime wonder, however, if the curriculum should be expanded to five years, what with so much information to learn....</p>
<p>Z -</p>
<p>We in the engineering/academia word would agree on the 5 year thing. To be a good engineer and/or scientist, one has to be exposed to the social sciences. The days of being able to survive as an engineer with blinders on to the world around are over. Even in engineering research, funding sources are requiring collaboration and social science components to the research plan. </p>
<p>It is interesting as the Plebes are starting to “pick” their majors. There is more emphasis on what you are “good” at and what you like, rather than this is a technological institution and it’s engineering and science all the way. A Humanities/Social Science – the new buzz words of Liberal Arts - education with a heavy dose of technology can be a good thing. LA teaches you to think and analyze. Technology allows you to function the real world.</p>
<p>Our plebe has two parents and two grandparents that are engineers. All four of us have liked with the plan of a division II – (science and math) major with a division III (Humanities and Social Sciences) minor. If he wants to be an engineer he can do that in grad school as Division II leaves all of the doors open for many career paths.</p>
<p>This is the Majors Brief that the class of 2010 had the beginning of the semester.
<a href="http://www.usna.edu/acdean/talks/10MjrsBrf.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://www.usna.edu/acdean/talks/10MjrsBrf.pdf</a></p>
<p>Some interesting points:
1. Mid Majors: Div 3 40%, Div 1(Engineering) 31% and Div 2 29% Who would have thought 40% in Humanities and Social Sciences.
2. There is no connection between major selection and service selection
3. Even USNA claims that a major is just a starting point for further development and a stepping stone for graduate education.
4. One’s major does not correlate strongly with success (measured by promotion and retention) as a Naval Officer; one’s performance in one’s major does.</p>