Jack Reed Asks Military Academy Superintendents How They Determine Curriculum For Cadets

3/31/2025

During a Senate Armed Forces hearing on Wednesday, Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) asked witnesses, Lieutenant General Steven Gilland, Vice Admiral Yvette Davids, and Lieutenant General Tony Bauernfeind, about the curriculum being taught at military academies.

Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:

https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript

Stay Connected
Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes
More From Forbes: http://forbes.com

Transcript

00:00for your testimony and for your service and my experience which has some connection to the

00:06academies is that there are places which build character and also critical thinking. The character

00:12is understanding that you must do the harder right rather than the easier wrong but the critical

00:18thinking is absolutely important because today we're in a multi-dimensional scheme of warfare.

00:24We have accelerating technology. We have contested fly lines. The young graduates are going into a

00:30much more complicated world than I went in with Admiral Davids. Can you talk about the process

00:38that your faculty and dean go through when determining the curriculum for your students?

00:46Thank you, Senator. We have a really robust curriculum. It includes everything that you

00:51might need to make a great officer and having just come from the fleet I can attest to that.

00:55It's got English. It's got government. It's got leadership. It's got STEM heavy to help develop

01:01them and ready them in order to be ready to be these incredible officers out in the fleet on day one, sir.

01:07Thank you. General Gallan, please. Senator Reed, our curriculum which spans across not only the

01:14academic program but also our physical and military program is designed to develop critical

01:21thinkers as I stated in the opening statement to be able to out think and out maneuver our

01:26adversaries. That's built into everything that we do at the United States Military Academy.

01:31Thank you, sir. General Varn and Fiend. Senator Reed, thank you very much. We have a robust course

01:39of instruction that not only includes our academic curriculum but our physical education and our

01:44commissioning education, all designed to meet the three priorities that I laid out in the opening

01:49statement as it moves forward. We have a very dynamic curriculum for all because in our connection

01:54with our Air Force major commands and our Space Force field comms, we are responsive to not only

01:59the requirements of the fielded forces but also the direction we receive from the Secretary of the

02:03Air Force. As an example, to graduate more of our future leaders focused on STEM degrees as the

02:10way of future warfare is going to rely heavily on that STEM education as it moves forward. Through

02:15our integrated curriculum review process as well as great faculty support, we're able to

02:21ebb and flow our curriculum to meet the dynamic requirements of the force.

02:26Sir, can I follow up with another question? Can you tell us a vignette of your own personal

02:33experience that you've tried to infuse into the wing at the Air Force Academy?

02:40So as an example, as we look forward to a curriculum review, we see an opportunity as

02:46looking to the future of our core is a need for understanding that all of our future leaders

02:52must not only be air-minded but they also must be space-minded and cyber-minded to understand how to

02:59deliver and understand the organizations that deliver those effects for the joint warfighting

03:03campaign. And so right now our faculty are looking through our process to how to ensure that all

03:09thousand graduates every year come out with that full appreciation of air, space, and cyber to be

03:15effective as joint operators. Thank you. Admiral David, your comments? Thank you, Senator. I think

03:22it's my enthusiasm for the curriculum and for the trust I've got in the faculty that inspires them

03:27all to do incredible things. And you asked what we do individually to support. And so I think one

03:34of my big focus areas this year has definitely been wargaming. And it's sort of at a nascent

03:38level, but I think we do have one of the largest undergraduate wargaming efforts at one time for

03:43our midshipman fourth class at the end of each year. It's really extraordinary. It's also to support the

03:48midshipman first class as they develop their capstone projects. And this is why it's so exciting

03:53because it's tied completely with the fleet, with our labs, with our research projects that occur

03:58that the midshipmen are incorporated to include in some real-world operational support. And not to

04:03mention, we have some incredible extracurricular activities that we talked about before. And one

04:08that I just used as an example is something we called SWAT-C, but imagine it is a competitive

04:13drone group that goes out and competes against these two here, but also other schools in the

04:19real-world terrain on understanding how you use that technology in the future. It's about really

04:24infusing support to the faculty and staff. Thank you. And General Gulen, you're up. Senator Reed,

04:30our curriculum is under continuous assessment and it evolves to meet the requirements of the

04:35United States Army. From a personal vignette perspective, at West Point we have what's

04:40called MX400, which is the officer capstone course. It's really, it's the superintendent's course.

04:47Our first class or seniors take that course one semester during their senior year. I address

04:54them and specifically the underpinnings of the Constitution of the United States and what it

05:00means to be a commissioned officer in the United States Army. And then the vignettes associated with

05:07experiences that I've had through almost 35 years of service in our Army.

05:12Just let me make two final points. One of the advantages you have now is a very established

05:19and experienced non-commissioned officer corps who are integrated within the cadet companies

05:26and squadrons, et cetera, which is a plus. The second, I have some prejudices among the

05:31academies, but Admiral Davis, I think Navy really began to turn in the right direction when in the

05:371860s you moved to Newport, Rhode Island for a few years. So I think that's the key point

05:42that should be made. Thank you. Thank you, sir.

Jack Reed Asks Military Academy Superintendents How They Determine Curriculum For Cadets

Category

Transcript

Recommended