Of course the whole idea of needing a degree in anything to become an officer is totally lost on me
If one looks to a degree as a glorified trade certificate, which unfortunately seems to be more and more prevalent today, then yes, there is no real point.
However, the degree should act as a grounding in the historical and theoretical principles of war, the specialized nature around which is formed the military profession. That is what I am arguing here, that we shouldn't just grab any degree willy-nilly, waiting for Phase Training and our Platoon Warrants to teach us everything about Command. A proper military education should be ever present and constantly expanding throughout an Officer's career; 200 years of success in war has shown this way of approaching professionalism to be the desired choice.
And what I am saying should not strictly apply to the Army, either. Despite the more technical/managerial nature of a commission in the Navy or the Air Force, there is still much to desire in the grasp of Naval or Air Doctrine and Operations. In one journal article I read, there was a brilliant quote that stated that the Air Force, with its excessive demand for some sort of Aeronautical technical degree, was in danger of becoming a mob of glorified truckers. Sure they were very proficent in the technical aspects of the airframe they would fly in, but they had no background in conceptions of Air Power or tactical and strategic doctrine.
same as having officers only as pilots.
I seem to remember Sergeants and Warrant Officers flying in the RCAF in WWII. Can anyone confirm this?
Perhaps their should be to kinds of pilots. All start out with a two year stint in the ranks.
One type of program will train pilots that commit simply to flying, they will be promoted to Sergeant upon completion of their Flight Training.
The other program will train Officers that commit to the professional Officer Corps of the Air Force. Not only will they fly, but they will dedicate themselves to the operational and strategic demands of Air Power. They go into a commission willingly knowing they will not pilot an aircraft for most of their career.
The purpose of the degree is just to teach you to think at a level beyond what you are thaught to think in high school. Unless you are going into a technical trade, the degree is not a primer for the work you will be doing. Pick something you are interested in.
I would venture that the purpose of a Degree (Especially a Liberal Arts Degree) is to give you new tools to critically analyse and respond to ideas and events that happen around you. With that in mind, a University education can provide great benefits to
anyone in
any position; that is why you will probably see a person with an English Literature degree succeed at a mid-to-senior level management position at a large corporation (My Father runs a successful company; he dropped out of highschool and his senior exec has a PhD in Chemistry, neither really applicable to running a sound business).
That being said, I believe that the profession of the Military Officer demands a firm grounding in military history and theory; it is, simply, the bread and butter of the profession. This is what Scharnhorst had in mind when he created the first real Military Academy at the beginning of the 19th century in Berlin (that all Academies have somehow emulated). Even today, I believe the CF recognizes this fact, demanding OPME requirements for junior officers be met prior to attending Staff College. It is an effort to level out the varying levels of education in the military profession that are present within the Officer Corps.
Though many brillent men will rise from the ranks or successfully command troops without any formal education; Clausewitz never had any education past highschool, Napoleon was an Artillery Corporal, Chesty Puller rose from the rank of Private to become a legend in the Marine Corps, these soldiers of military genius pop up randomly and periodically; maintaining an amateur Officer Corps while waiting for one to show up in crunch time can leave an Army in defeat (As the Prussians found out at Jena in 1806). By demanding the utmost of your Officers, in educational as well as operational capabilities, you raise the bar as a whole and can ensure victory in war.
