Quote Originally Posted by Ron Humphrey View Post

1. This is a very important issue due mostly to the fact that with education often come more skill sets and the capability to use them effectively in team environments. Also of note that those who have received more education tend to be more easily identified by their commands for those skill sets they possess.

2. One problem is that an educated soldier can be a better soldier, but not necessarily does an education a better soldier make.

3. Not all those who join the service are necessarily (built) for lack of a better term; for college. Many often have extraordinary capabilities at what they do best without need nor desire for furtherance in " intellectual " pursuits.

4. The key is to identify early those for whom it would work best and provide career paths accordingly.

5. When it comes down to the ground actions its you or them many a times and in that case trying to remember how somebody centuries ago did it, or what the other guys humanitarian roots are probably isn't going to fit the momentary bill so much as smooth trigger pull and good teamwork.

Just a couple of asides I've heard brought up before

@ 1. Yes, unforchanetly when I was in the Army, the people who had educations were usually sent to the training room.

@ 2. No education does no guarantee a good soldier. But a good soldier, will only be better with one. In other words, some people will never be good soldiers regardless of having an MS, MA, MBA, JD, and PHD all at the same time, this we know. But take a good soldier and get him exercising his brain and only good can come from it.

@ 3. Yes, not everyone is built for school, that's why I believe there should be an ASVAB requirement plus the desire to do it.

@ 4. Yes, indeed.

@ 5. No one is going to think about the Peloponnesian wars while their team stacks up outside the door. Education brings something much more than just factual knowledge. It trains the mind to recognize patterns, analyze situations, think about contingencies, solve problems, and weigh trade-offs. It also produces better communicators, technical knowledge, and the ability to write better. Education will also encourage intellectual curiosity, which I believe could be very useful. I would love to see a "Journal of the Non-Commissioned Officer." This journal could discuss anything from PT programs to small unit tactics to mathematical models for ammo-redistribution.