My simple plan for reviving PME
Recently, in a note to a reader, I summarized my views of how to reform professional military education. It occurred to me that I might share them here: Make admission competitive. Make the education as academically rigorous as it was during the interwar period. (And don’t train them. Educate them to think critically.) Make everybody ...
Recently, in a note to a reader, I summarized my views of how to reform professional military education. It occurred to me that I might share them here:
Recently, in a note to a reader, I summarized my views of how to reform professional military education. It occurred to me that I might share them here:
- Make admission competitive.
- Make the education as academically rigorous as it was during the interwar period. (And don’t train them. Educate them to think critically.)
- Make everybody write a lot and get graded on their work. As Orwell said, if you aren’t writing clearly, you probably aren’t thinking clearly.
- Post class rankings weekly.
- Fail at least 5 percent of the class, and dismiss from the service anyone caught plagiarizing or otherwise cheating.
- Upon graduation, publicly list graduates in order, and give the top 10 or 25 percent preference in subsequent posts.
Thomas E. Ricks is a former contributing editor to Foreign Policy. Twitter: @tomricks1
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