Best Defense

Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

Closing the war colleges and the academies (III): Who said this?

Do military officers benefit from attending a civilian graduate school after having learned their trade as warfighters and during a period in their careers that permits them to spend a year or two ‘away from the troops’? The short answer is yes…. “The first and most important [reason] is that a stint at graduate school ...

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586512_090422_pet2.jpg

Do military officers benefit from attending a civilian graduate school after having learned their trade as warfighters and during a period in their careers that permits them to spend a year or two ‘away from the troops’? The short answer is yes….

“The first and most important [reason] is that a stint at graduate school takes military officers out of their intellectual comfort zones…

“Of course, West Point has changed enormously over the years and it is a true national treasure, but despite the varied curriculum and experiences it provides, it is not an institution that puts creativity, individuality and discovery before all else.”

Two points to the first person who identifies the writer.

AAMIR QURESHI/AFP/Getty Images

Thomas E. Ricks covered the U.S. military from 1991 to 2008 for the Wall Street Journal and then the Washington Post. He can be reached at ricksblogcomment@gmail.com. Twitter: @tomricks1

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