Should Officers be required to have a Specific Degree in order to be commissioned?

I will weigh in on this with a bit of a measured response, because I am currently struggling a bit with the identity that we, as Army Engineers, hold and it has shaded my opinion on this topic a great deal.

I firmly believe that the strength of the Army lies in diversity. This is diversity in the greatest and most broad spectrum of the concept that you can imagine. Where we do lack diversity, there is usually a practical reason for it (such as certain medical, mental, moral, etc standards). Education is no different. There is not educational path to being a good leader, even though a solid education will most certainly bolster someone with leadership capabilities. When you have a wide variety of educational experience, you have a wide variety of theoretical and practical knowledge to call from which allows for a larger spectrum of possibilities in working to resolve the complexity in which we operate.

We can utilize CJTF-HOA as a prime example of how out of the box thinking is what is leading to success. We are primarily supporting the TCN warfighter and extending/supporting the LOEs through our M2M, HA, HCA, and other similar engagements. This is not a shoot, move, and communicate type operation here. We are able to help mitigate risks, support the DA effort, and further develop our military presence and influence over a strategic location by utilizing our minds, solid ideas, solid assessment, and quite a bit of innovation in strategy. We are not able to utilize typical military operations that would act as a show of force or anything which may come from an older playbook. This kind of operating is highly successful through diversity of experience, education, knowledge, and a certain adaptability which comes from being able to see things from more than just a militarily-shaded lens. It is interesting to hear conversations between Engineers, Logisticians, CA, MISO, JAG, and other people when addressing both short-term tactical issues and long-term strategic issues. Once you do, you can see how the diversity of the backgrounds, experiences, and education can really influence and shape the success of the mission. I am certain that GEN Petraeus and GEN Mattis would agree with this, especially after they shaped the new doctrine for COIN.

Due to this, I see how the diversity of degrees can be extremely value-added to the Army in the fluid and dynamic environments that we work in. This is not as much force-on-force as it is complete multispectrum operations across many locusts of impact.

I will say that I am glad to see a push for more STEM majors. This is valuable. While, we don't need to exceed a certain threshold with them, it brings a valuable, flexible technical ability to the table that can be molded. Everything is becoming more technical and having those that can look at it from that lens can have an amazing impact. I do wish that there were more extensive programs to assist those who are in technical fields (including E, WO, and O ranks) to gain the needed education if they do not already posses it. As an Engineer, I have a business degree and was well on my way to a MBA, but now that I am doing this full-time and have been exposed to the fact that we are not required to have an Engineering degree but must be able to function as though we do in many circumstances. Every other Engineer-related Officer here at CJTF-HOA from the other services is required to have an Engineering degree. I will admit, it would be overkill for most operations and combat engineering assignments, but when you are assigned to more technical assignments, the lack of education can create a challenge. Right now, it comes down to a level of personal and professional pride if none-technically educated Soldiers choose to pursue education in their field utilizing their own benefits or taking care of the expenses on their own. For most Enlisted and Warrant Officers, they obviously chose their field or at least chose from what was available that they qualified for. For Officers, we don't often choose our field. This can create some knowledge gaps for many. I personally think that there should be programs to assist in bridging that gap. I have been weighing the pros and cons of working on the undergraduate prerequisites needed for a Masters of Engineering in comparison to completing a MBA. It's a tough call. My professional pride and desire to be the SME, especially when I represent the Army to other services or the US to other countries, is vital to me. However, I also know the impact that a solid MBA can have against most of my operational and leadership assignments. It's a tough call to make and it's definitely a delicate balance when you know that the education's value has increased dramatically but you must cover the expenses and time on your own. This is where I can see that we could improve dramatically. Similar programs could also help drive that young E-4 12T to pick up a STEM degree and contribute more as a NCO, WO, or O. That would increase our technical capacity as an Army which I think is something we need to strategically look at for long-term growth and capacity.

This thread has been going a while. Well, what was the verdict? Was there a degree path to Leonidas like company grade leadership? Was there a correlation between degrees and specific branches? I believe the degree requirement for commissioning is not tied directly to a success/failure of platoon leaders. The services need officers. Officers are needed to lead the services from the tactical to operational to strategic levels. The military skills and decision making are grown in house. The degree is not a certification in that regard, it is a box check to get into a commissioning program. A bachelors degree, codified by law, became the universally accepted standard. It was selected for many reasons. I believe among them are: you can stick to something for four plus years; you can apply intellectual rigor to problems; you have the capability to learn a foreign body of knowledge and be conversant in it; the service would acquire someone with your skill set to be repurposed for needs of the service later on. As an example, I came from a blue collar neighborhood on the south side of Boston. I was a commercial fisherman before commissioning. I was branched Ordnance (maintenance) with my Civil Engineering degree that the Army paid for (75% anyway) with the intent of branching me Combat Engineer. Couple truths. The majority of engineering at company grade, isn't. It is mobility, counter mobility, survivability...not designing things. In those days, CSS got the left overs from combat arms. My semesters of Steel Design, Intro to Design, and Mechanics of Materials made me capable of understanding very technical welding and machining issues my Allied Trades shop was dealing with when I was a platoon leader and a shop officer. Growing up as the son of a mechanic helped me understand automotive-armament technical issues as a platoon leader and shop officer. Much later my civil engineering background helped me understand and prioritize public works projects as a Garrison Commander. Nothing prepared me to get scuffed up by my first Troop Commander, counsel my Platoon Sergeant, lead non-cadets for the first time, investigate my first FLIPL, deal with a couple shady NCOs, deal with a couple inflexible seniors, handle a few spouses from hell, deal with death, command a world wide organization etc. nothing would have. What made that all work, was the preparation I recieved from parents that held me to standards; teachers that cared about me; early leadership opportunities as an adolescent (scouting, JROTC, sports, etc); development in my commissioning source by officers and NCOs; development by all ranks as an Officer ( I learn from everyone- good and bad); hard work; and being myself, not trying to be something I am not. If you are not Audie Murphy (alThough he was not well liked either) , you should not try to be him. I am not a proponent for thou must be an NCO first mentality. I have seen many that are incredible officers. I have seen some not make the transition and try to be O3 squad leaders and alienate their NCOs.

Other than in the medical field, there is no degree that will help you be a commissioned officer.

The dictionary definition of leadership is a person who guides or directs a group; ability to lead; an act or instance of leading; guidance; direction.
Not everyone is cut out to be a leader. You cannot force someone to change who they are or how they act. Just because a person is 'book smart' does not mean they would be a good leader.

Leadership is not something that can be taught in a book/school setting.

I do not know of any academic institution that could have prepared me to become an officer in the military. I went enlisted to officer and was extremely disappointed with the 'training' I received in BOLC as a newly commissioned officer. They teach regulations not leadership and barely touch on MDMP. I agree with everyone else that has recommended that NCOs step up and mentor newly commissioned individuals. There is so much more that can be learned from experience and part of mentorship is demonstrating leadership. Leadership is looking out for others, instructing them to make the best choice, and being the type of leader that others respect and rely on.

On the opposite end of this question, can you think of a degree that doesn't stress research? Since every new position is a new opportunity to learn and grow the degree doesn't matter IMO, so long as there is a demonstrated willingness to learn. Their performance in leadership training (ROTC, Service Academy, OCS, Officer Basic, ect...) matters more to me than the civilian subject of study in my opinion.

I would imagine unless the Officer Corps starts requiring success as a prior service NCO as a requirement to attending OCS/ROTC, the military will continue to field newly-minted 2LTs who have to learn the Army the hard way.

SSG (Join to see) - A degree has zero connection with common sense or competence. I have an Associates Degree as a nurse... joining back before they made the BSN mandatory....a decision I support fully to become uniform with the rest of the military.

There are zero college courses that teach you about Army life unless you are in a service academy, and very few college courses that teach you about leadership. How do you propose getting that experience? That is the very reason that the LTs OERS are masked...... so they DON'T wreck a career while learning.

You learned about the Army a Specialist and Sergeant most likely..... able to learn and not be excessively visible. Fresh LTs are still expected to lead and WILL have those "growing pains".... but cannot hide.

I will say I was never incompetent, but there was much I never could have learned without mentorship from all ranks. As a SSG....especially promotable, you are at a level where you can do of two things: use your experience to teach them about the military, or two use your experience to compromise their abilities to lead as you watch them drown.

The only way to teach about military life is to LIVE a military life. I am sure you did some stupid stuff when you were first starting your military career....but you survived. Why not allow others the same opportunity as you to guide them? Otherwise they'll just doa few years and get out. .... leaning to a revolving for of company grade officers that never develop beyond that.
V/R,
CPT Butler

I don't think that Officers should necessarily have certain degrees in order to earn a commission, but I do think that the military should try to align the skills and education of its service members with specific jobs. &nbsp;For example, when selecting new Officers for a highly technical job, it would make sense to try to assign that job to someone who has a degree in a related field. &nbsp;This will potentially better match skills and knowledge with the requirements of the job.<div><br></div><div>There are certain jobs that do require specific degrees for commission. &nbsp;Lawyers, doctors, chaplains, etc. are all required to have degrees in their respective fields.</div>

Culinary Arts. That way you can ensure your people are being well fed. As to war fighting and leadership, I'll entrust that to the military training and schools.

What degree preps you for Infantry?

How much competence do you expect out of someone with a couple of months experience? I am frankly amazed that we turn out as many good officers as we do, and I haven't been active since 1995 and it was just as true then. We take young men and women with a degree, give BCT and OCS or a couple of years of ROTC, and expect that to make them leaders. My opinion of what makes them a success or a failure is if they luck into a top notch Platoon Sgt and have competent senior leaders to mentor them. It's the Platoon Sergeant's and Company Commander's job to mold that gullible little mind into a useful officer.
I was lucky, not only had I grown up with an E8 father, but I'm a grass to brass officer that had enough enlisted time to start developing some feeling for what I thought it took to command. I also lucked out and have two outstanding platoon sergeants that didn't baby sit me, but would give me that gentle nudge or kick in the ass if I were screwing it up. Leadership is learned and it's learned by experience.
Maybe you should start considering what you can do to train those individuals in the right direction.