Developing Army Leaders through CGSOC/AMSP and BCTP

The complexity of today's battlefield is perhaps the greatest an officer in the Army has ever witnessed in its 229-year history. How the Army prepares its officers to deal with the complexities of the current battlefield is the purpose of this monograph. Specifically, the monograph examines two distinct arms of the institutional training domain: the Command and General Staff Officer's Course (CGSOC)/Advanced Military Studies Program (AMSP), and the Battle Command Training Program (BCTP). To better analyze these institutions, the author has attempted to describe numerous stimuli that an officer will have to contend with as he or she serves in the Army formations of today and tomorrow. These stimuli have been broken down into two distinct areas: enemy and friendly. The enemy situation consists of such categories as the current operating environment, potential threats, the use of asymmetry, and cultural awareness. Focus areas for the friendly situation include guidance from civilian and military leaders; joint, interagency, and multinational operations; operational net assessment; effects-based operations; organizational change; Army culture; and leadership. These two components are then filtered through the specific organizations mentioned above to see if the Army has considered these challenges and opportunities and ensured that U.S. Army officers are educated and trained to operate in the current environment. This monograph provides an assessment of the Army's performance at these institutions and provides recommendations for improving them. The author concludes that the Army is doing a credible job in the training and education of its leaders, and that it is up to each individual officer to take ownership of his/her own development to ensure proficiency on the battlefield.