Professional Military Education and the Emerging Revolution in Military Affairs

Abstract : Military theorists and scholars throughout history have noted the occurrence of profound, discontinuous changes in the conduct--sometimes even the nature--of warfare. Recently, significant intellectual effort has focused on such an emerging revolution in military affairs (RMA), defined by the Office of the Secretary of Defense (Net Assessment) as major change. ..brought about by the innovative application of new technologies which, combined with dramatic changes in military doctrine and operational and organizational concepts, fundamentally alters the character and conduct of military operations. The notion of an RMA differs from the Soviet concept of a military-technical revolution, primarily by its emphasis on the nontechnological dimensions of military power. In the RMA paradigm, the brain ware component is as important as-perhaps even more important than-the hardware component. Given this fact, consideration of the future focus and conduct of professional military education (PME) can be counted among the most vital tasks facing the Department of Defense (DOD) today. As we look to the future, the answers to two related questions are of potentially great importance. First, how can we leverage PME to better understand and exploit the potential of the RMA? Second, how can we leverage the RMA itself to enhance PME?