Military Brass vs. Civilian Academics at the National War College

Howard J. Wiarda is Dean Rusk Professor of International Relations at the University of Georgia and author of Think Tanks and Foreign Policy: The Foreign Policy Research Institute and Presidential Politics, Harvard and the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs (WCFIA): Foreign Policy Research Center and Incubator of Presidential Advisors, and Conservative Brain Trust: The Rise, Fall, and Rise Again of the American Enterprise Institute.

• Chapter 1 PrefaceChapter 2 Chapter 1: Geography and HistoryChapter 3 Chapter 2: Command Structure and OrganizationChapter 4 Chapter 3: The National War College ProgramChapter 5 Chapter 4: Students and FacultyChapter 6 Chapter 5: Traveling for NWC—and for MyselfChapter 7 Chapter 6: The Military MindChapter 8 Chapter 7: The Academic MindChapter 9 Conclusion

Based on his personal experience, Wiarda provides a candid and critical analysis of the military-civilian academic cultural divide at NWC, the failure of the military to assign officers with requisite academic qualifications and dispositions to leadership positions at NWC and the National Defense University, and the adverse consequences of this failure on the open exchange of ideas and critical thinking required for future military and civilian leaders. The reforms that Wiarda suggests, notably placing more civilians in key leadership positions and empowering the faculty in decision-making, deserve serious consideration.