Posted on Aug 13, 2015
Military Officers don't need a degree? What say you?
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Military Officers Don’t Need College Degrees
Military recruiters and top brass like to repeat the refrain that the average member of the armed forces is better educated than the average American. It’s true. According to the Defense Department, nearly 94% of enlisted personnel have a high-school diploma, while only 60% of Americans do. About 83% of officers have a bachelor’s degree, in comparison with 30% of the general population.
These statistics, though, involve a bit of self-selection: Most officers have a bachelor’s degree because becoming an officer generally requires one, though this prerequisite appears increasingly anachronistic.
For one thing, the requirement of a college degree is simply a box for officer candidates to check. It doesn’t matter to the armed forces where you went to school, what you studied, or how well you did—short of a minimal GPA level of about 2.5 out of 4.0.
Scholarships provided by the Reserve Officer Training Corps and military academies such as West Point and Annapolis may have more stringent criteria, but in general anyone with a four-year degree who can pass the basic background checks and physical requirements of the military may apply for Officer Candidate School.
Instead of mandating that officers have college degrees, the military should expand alternative avenues to officership. A few exceptions to the degree mandate already exist: Warrant officers or limited-duty officers—typically highly trained specialists in technical fields like avionics or equipment maintenance—have worked their way to officership. Their service is akin to apprenticeship, where useful knowledge is gained through practical experience, not textbook theory. Why not offer the same deal to other recruits?
Historically, a college degree signaled superior intelligence, critical reasoning and writing skills, and dedication. A degree holder could be expected to form logical, coherent arguments and effectively communicate ideas. But a college degree in 2015 no longer signals—let alone guarantees—much of anything.
According to a 2014 Lumina-Gallup poll, “just 11% of business leaders strongly agree that higher education institutions in this country are graduating students with the skills and competencies that their business needs, and 17% strongly disagree.” In a Chronicle for Higher Education survey published in March 2013, employers said that applicants with degrees lacked decision-making and problem-solving abilities, written and oral communication skills, adaptability, and even the capacity to manage multiple priorities.
Even more than in civilian environments, those are skills needed for war. If a college degree no longer confers them, then why should the armed forces require it at all? Beyond the usual arguments about the prohibitive cost for many high-school graduates unable to take on debt, a college degree isn’t needed to be successful. Peter Thiel, an accomplished tech businessman, offers a fellowship of $100,000 for aspiring entrepreneurs who want to skip college and build businesses instead. Companies started as a result now employ 200 people and have generated $200 million in economic activity, according to the fellowship.
Some may argue that obtaining a bachelor’s degree shows responsibility or maturity. Yet how much responsibility does a typical single, childless 22-year-old college senior have? Has he demonstrated greater responsibility than a 22-year-old corporal at the end of his first tour of duty? Has he even demonstrated greater responsibility than a 19-year-old private first class after six months of service?
The only mark of distinction that a college degree still indicates, perhaps, is dedication. It usually requires four or more years to achieve, and following through to the end suggests long-term commitment to a goal. Yet clearly, college and putting off the working world is not for everyone. In 2013, the six-year graduation rate in the U.S. was only 59%, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
Commitment is certainly important to success in the military, but the armed forces already have a way to measure and test it: a four-year enlistment. If aspiring officers must demonstrate commitment and responsibility, completing a four-year enlistment should suffice. If they must prove raw intellectual aptitude, high scores on the military’s own General Classification Test should be enough. If they must have general knowledge and the ability to think and write coherently, an exam akin to the State Department’s Foreign Service Officer Test would work.
A combination of these could easily form a new path to an officer’s commission—and providing an alternative to the bachelor’s degree would produce an even more qualified officer corps.
http://www.wsj.com/article_email/military-officers-dont-need-college-degrees [login to see] -lMyQjAxMTI1NzE3MzMxNTM3Wj
Military recruiters and top brass like to repeat the refrain that the average member of the armed forces is better educated than the average American. It’s true. According to the Defense Department, nearly 94% of enlisted personnel have a high-school diploma, while only 60% of Americans do. About 83% of officers have a bachelor’s degree, in comparison with 30% of the general population.
These statistics, though, involve a bit of self-selection: Most officers have a bachelor’s degree because becoming an officer generally requires one, though this prerequisite appears increasingly anachronistic.
For one thing, the requirement of a college degree is simply a box for officer candidates to check. It doesn’t matter to the armed forces where you went to school, what you studied, or how well you did—short of a minimal GPA level of about 2.5 out of 4.0.
Scholarships provided by the Reserve Officer Training Corps and military academies such as West Point and Annapolis may have more stringent criteria, but in general anyone with a four-year degree who can pass the basic background checks and physical requirements of the military may apply for Officer Candidate School.
Instead of mandating that officers have college degrees, the military should expand alternative avenues to officership. A few exceptions to the degree mandate already exist: Warrant officers or limited-duty officers—typically highly trained specialists in technical fields like avionics or equipment maintenance—have worked their way to officership. Their service is akin to apprenticeship, where useful knowledge is gained through practical experience, not textbook theory. Why not offer the same deal to other recruits?
Historically, a college degree signaled superior intelligence, critical reasoning and writing skills, and dedication. A degree holder could be expected to form logical, coherent arguments and effectively communicate ideas. But a college degree in 2015 no longer signals—let alone guarantees—much of anything.
According to a 2014 Lumina-Gallup poll, “just 11% of business leaders strongly agree that higher education institutions in this country are graduating students with the skills and competencies that their business needs, and 17% strongly disagree.” In a Chronicle for Higher Education survey published in March 2013, employers said that applicants with degrees lacked decision-making and problem-solving abilities, written and oral communication skills, adaptability, and even the capacity to manage multiple priorities.
Even more than in civilian environments, those are skills needed for war. If a college degree no longer confers them, then why should the armed forces require it at all? Beyond the usual arguments about the prohibitive cost for many high-school graduates unable to take on debt, a college degree isn’t needed to be successful. Peter Thiel, an accomplished tech businessman, offers a fellowship of $100,000 for aspiring entrepreneurs who want to skip college and build businesses instead. Companies started as a result now employ 200 people and have generated $200 million in economic activity, according to the fellowship.
Some may argue that obtaining a bachelor’s degree shows responsibility or maturity. Yet how much responsibility does a typical single, childless 22-year-old college senior have? Has he demonstrated greater responsibility than a 22-year-old corporal at the end of his first tour of duty? Has he even demonstrated greater responsibility than a 19-year-old private first class after six months of service?
The only mark of distinction that a college degree still indicates, perhaps, is dedication. It usually requires four or more years to achieve, and following through to the end suggests long-term commitment to a goal. Yet clearly, college and putting off the working world is not for everyone. In 2013, the six-year graduation rate in the U.S. was only 59%, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
Commitment is certainly important to success in the military, but the armed forces already have a way to measure and test it: a four-year enlistment. If aspiring officers must demonstrate commitment and responsibility, completing a four-year enlistment should suffice. If they must prove raw intellectual aptitude, high scores on the military’s own General Classification Test should be enough. If they must have general knowledge and the ability to think and write coherently, an exam akin to the State Department’s Foreign Service Officer Test would work.
A combination of these could easily form a new path to an officer’s commission—and providing an alternative to the bachelor’s degree would produce an even more qualified officer corps.
http://www.wsj.com/article_email/military-officers-dont-need-college-degrees [login to see] -lMyQjAxMTI1NzE3MzMxNTM3Wj
Officers
Education
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Bachelors Degree
Commission
Posted 9 y ago
Responses: 126
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Depends on job. Do you want a naval cheif engineer officer not to have a science or engineering degree?
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I say that in every profession there are a fair share of useful idiots. Having a degree doesn't ensure you will be a good leader. Education is important, but holding a degree doesn't make one any more fit to lead.
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The LTs article really does illustrate his limited perspective and limited military experience.
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I'm interested in any examples of effective militaries built on this concept...
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Cpl Jeff N.
Capt Richard I P. . I think if you look at our army during the revolution and many European armies 18th/19th century and earlier you will see plenty of non higher educated leaders.
The advent of military universities/academies is still fairly recent in human terms. Sandhurst was founded circa 1720 and our own WestPoint and Annapolis in 1801 and 1845 respectively. We did it before then without them. Not saying they are not valuable institutions but they are not the only way to develop martial and leadership skills.
The advent of military universities/academies is still fairly recent in human terms. Sandhurst was founded circa 1720 and our own WestPoint and Annapolis in 1801 and 1845 respectively. We did it before then without them. Not saying they are not valuable institutions but they are not the only way to develop martial and leadership skills.
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Capt (Join to see)
Before the professionalization of the officer core it was just aristocrats who were officers. These days we require officers to go through a liberal arts education and then go through technical training for their jobs. We've made the profession of military officership more science than art and I think were better for it.
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Some college course work is required for OCS in the Coast Guard but I think you can actually get away with being accepted to OCS without a completed degree. . However it is a very difficult process. I would say 1 out of 30 get selected for a class of 20 to 30 people. . You would have to have one hell of a package to be accepted without a degree.
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LTC Jason Mackay
You can commission but it is a statutory requirement for promotion to O3. Can't speak to the USCG, but the Army is reluctant to commission someone they will have to lose for 18 months for degree completion so they are not a promotion risk. That time is also critical for young leaders to gain experience as their next stop is CPT/O3, the career course and company command.
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I don't know,some people feel secure in knowing that the person ultimately in charge has a piece of paper at least stating he/she can add. On the other hand it's about information. Many officers have degrees in something that doesn't correlate to their specialty so in that regard it's more about critical thinking. I'm sure an E6 who has used his free time to get his or her degree could make the same decision as a Captain as long as that person received the required information. Who would determine how the officer corps is selected? Anyways it's something that has been established by tradition. Besides officers do serve one important function...they keep us enlisted guys from killing one another. I could imagine a couple of Gunnys or SMSgts working me to death if the platoon or flight commander wasn't there to say knock it off hahaha.
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Traditionally yes they have but there have been times when enlisted received battlefield promotions. I'm not sure the writer knows what he's speaking of...
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Sgt Tom Cunnally
We had an enlisted/officer program at Camp Geiger NC when I was there. If you were recommended for OCS by your CO, you would be interviewed by a board of three or four officers who reviewed and questioned your personnel file. Then if they gave the OK you would take a rigid physical exam and written test.. Then another interview to review the results of these two exams. I recall the OIC of this enlisted/officer board telling me that the Marines like to have officers who came from the enlisted ranks.
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LCDR (Join to see)
You bring up another point (and possibly another thread) regarding the "character" of officers. It was "presumed" in the past that a "gentleman" had certain social standing, and that was usually pedigreed by some academic association as well. In reality, I find that a thirty year old NCO with a wife, two kids and bills to pay has far more character on the average than any twenty-one year old fresh out of the dorms. However, I think any officer will admit that the "grew up" a lot in their first or second tours, and the same logic applies. I think the critical element here is time...time to achieve something on your own volition, such as a degree...time to mature as a person...time to gain experience. The traditional paths assume that four years of earning a degree, the time required to earn a commission (if not concurrently such as with ROTC or the Academies), and the "summer training" with active units supply this time...I think in today's changing educational landscape, this may need re-evaluation.
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SSgt Alex Robinson
Joshua, any new officer would be wise to have an experienced NCO mentor them. They need to remember they are newbies and don't know crap
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"The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.”
- F Scott Fitzgerald
Look, I understand that college has been overpriced as of late. That's understandable. But never forget the structure and reasoning for higher education. Though it may have fallen short sometimes, it's #one duty isn't to produce professionals, but rather, thinkers.
Thinkers.
For many in the public, when their children mention considering to join the armed forces their parents quip and tell them to shut their mouth. Growing up in a well off neighborhood, few to none mentioned thoughts of entering military service.
Take the average enlisted soldier. He/she most likely comes from a lower/middle class upbringing. Will join the military at a young age and rise up the ranks.
Unless he/she is exposed to a world class high school education, as they rise up the ranks they will increase in knowledge in relations to their MOS specialty, but will they be taught in looking at problems from a multi-domain view?
Officers look at the big picture. They're often called generalists. It requires knowing just a bit about everything to then synthesize and plan. What better step gets you towards that moniker than a bachelor's degree? Feel free to answer.
Going through courses in a variety of disciplines, engaging in dialogue with others and synthesizing ideas from across time.. this is something truly essential to a world class thinker.
One may say, "Well.. the battlefield is the battlefield. All that extra knowledgeable is just a waste of space. "
To which I state, " I respectfully disagree."
Warren Buffett often refers to his success to what he refers to as mental models. It's these mental models,built off an undergraduate course regiment, that he states allowed him to approsch a variety of problems from different angles and comes up with the strongest solutions.
Look. We're all in the defense industry. What other industry has such volatility as this. Safety is by far the most expensive thing in most federal and state budgets. Freedom is most certainly not free.
Wouldn't you want someone leading and planning troops that would anticipate things at a larger point of view than just what experience would bring?
- F Scott Fitzgerald
Look, I understand that college has been overpriced as of late. That's understandable. But never forget the structure and reasoning for higher education. Though it may have fallen short sometimes, it's #one duty isn't to produce professionals, but rather, thinkers.
Thinkers.
For many in the public, when their children mention considering to join the armed forces their parents quip and tell them to shut their mouth. Growing up in a well off neighborhood, few to none mentioned thoughts of entering military service.
Take the average enlisted soldier. He/she most likely comes from a lower/middle class upbringing. Will join the military at a young age and rise up the ranks.
Unless he/she is exposed to a world class high school education, as they rise up the ranks they will increase in knowledge in relations to their MOS specialty, but will they be taught in looking at problems from a multi-domain view?
Officers look at the big picture. They're often called generalists. It requires knowing just a bit about everything to then synthesize and plan. What better step gets you towards that moniker than a bachelor's degree? Feel free to answer.
Going through courses in a variety of disciplines, engaging in dialogue with others and synthesizing ideas from across time.. this is something truly essential to a world class thinker.
One may say, "Well.. the battlefield is the battlefield. All that extra knowledgeable is just a waste of space. "
To which I state, " I respectfully disagree."
Warren Buffett often refers to his success to what he refers to as mental models. It's these mental models,built off an undergraduate course regiment, that he states allowed him to approsch a variety of problems from different angles and comes up with the strongest solutions.
Look. We're all in the defense industry. What other industry has such volatility as this. Safety is by far the most expensive thing in most federal and state budgets. Freedom is most certainly not free.
Wouldn't you want someone leading and planning troops that would anticipate things at a larger point of view than just what experience would bring?
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Suspended Profile
One ruberic in all my college classes was thinking critically.
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Degrees are over rated. In a drawdown such as Vietnam first ones to go are captains with no degree. I personally new 3. One had 17 years 8 months. 30 grand and get out. Green hat. Sf. 3 tours in nam. Maxed every OER. The pentagon sucks.
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