ROTC Cadets paid to learn languages

[Rex Brynen]

political science has decided that its version of science must emulate physics and has gone overly quantitative and into something called "formal modeling" of things that have less than much utility in the real world. Research methods courses focus on statistics - particularly linear regression - but they tend not to teach the student anything about collecting data. The idea that drinking beer out of a single glass filled from a liter bottle and passing the glass after chugging it is a critical data collection skill in the Peruvian highlands is totally foreign (read drinking tea in Arab/Muslim cultures).

I couldn't agree more (although I wouldn't underestimate the value of araq either).

[Surferbeetle]

I majored in biology. That qualifies me to explain glucolysis on a sheet of paper to anyone who cares to listen (probably nobody). I think the undergraduate education should be, first, a liberal education that lays the foundation for the professional officer. But since undergrads generally choose to major in something - and many of us put very little thought into it - we might want to identify certain majors/minors that we value more than others.
[/I]

Schmedlap & John T. Fishel,

Multidisciplinary teams are fun to work on because a liberal arts background is helpful with understanding appropriate context for solutions and a quantitative background helps with creating testable and functional solutions. Overweighting a team in just one arena can lead to the stereotypical solutions that we enjoy poking fun at from time to time, i.e. granola science and nerd sociology.

My first degree was in biology, and it included 3 years of chemistry and german. When I left active duty for the civilian world the biology was enough to get me into a genetics lab, but the chem background was the real money-earning portion of my academic training and it allowed me to move to a chem lab. From there it was back to school for the engineering, solt for spanish, and then later the mba. I have needed it all in order to be semi-effective at IW.

The SWJ - IW definition thread has been interesting to watch as the MCO and IW camps maneuver. Irregular Warfare Joint Operating Concept, Version 1.0, 11 September 2007 has a section that I found worth ripping off and incorporating into my personal definition… IW is the use of any means available to attrite, influence, and or exhaust an opponent in order to have him succumb to your will. The use of multidisciplinary teams in DIME operations are needed for IW success and so it’s good to have access to the Liberal Arts and Quantitative Science crowd to solve things…

Regards,

Steve

[John T. Fishel]

I suspect that a fruitful data source for a social scientist from Mars interested in 21st Century Earth military culture would be SWJ non-virtual gatherings at Sine's and the High Noon Saloon!

Cheers

JohnT

[jmm99]

I might as well throw in my two cents worth - with truth in lending that I'm a grad of a science-engineering school.

JTF
That said, (and I concur with those who have made this comment in different ways) the best undergraduate preparation for a military or naval officer is a solid Liberal Arts bachelor's degree that demands critical thought and a major that the student is deeply interested in.

So, I'd take out the phrase "Liberal Arts" - and replace it - with nothing. Otherwise, John's quote is a gem.

I'd add some thoughts.

When I went to undergrad, the liberal arts (history and literature) were something I'd been at for many years. So, at Tech, I was perverse and went the science route (biochem, with emphasis on cellular physiology and the nasty substances that make life difficult for mammalian cells).

In high school, I (like all the other males who planned on Mich Tech or the U of M) took the engineering prep school sequence. Frankly, math and science were harder for me than the liberal arts. Thus, my undergrad studies filled something of a gap in my educational picture - and made me more well-rounded.

My liberal arts sequence at Tech was languages (4 years of German; 2 of Russian), which added to the 3 years of Latin in high school. Again, something of a gap was filled since I am pretty much tone deaf. They also filled a gap in my background in international relations - although I never did transition from the English service of Radio Moscow to its Russian service.

MTU had and still has a very active ROTC program. So, many of my classmates became officers with a science-engineering background - the other major major was business administration. They did just fine in Vietnam and afterwards.

So, my two cents (besides JTF's basic syllogism) is to fill in the gaps in your overall education.

PS: beer, araq & a few more are also within my area of expertise; but there I have to yield to the true experts such as Ken and others. A really great new year to you and yours.

[davidoff]

There are fellowships through the National Security Education Program and administered by www.borenawards.org that require either area studies or language studies to supplement ones education.
I don't know if military are excluded from these, but they are graduate only and the only criteria seem to be how your studies will positively impact US national security; as opposed to NSA, CIA, and State scholarships that require some commitment and background check.
This seems to be part of a larger effort to create a generation of individuals capable of meeting the needs of the Military and Intelligence community that may have been neglected in the previous generation, or incorrectly targeted towards other languages/area studies.
I have heard from some US military veterans that the downfall of US capability in this arena was the result of funding cuts made during the Clinton administration. I am interested to see what the future brings in this respect, even though it seems unlikely that overall military spending will be cut, due to the precarious nature of security at this time.

[John T. Fishel]

The Boren Scholarships are for undergrads; the Boren Fellowships for grads. they can be used with any other funding making for a very nice incentive. President Boren (of OU) would be very pleased with the publicity for the awards on this website.

Cheers

JohnT