MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va. — One of the Marine Corps’ most prestigious schools, which puts graduates on the fast track to high-profile assignments, is accepting applications for its next class.
Those who complete the program are also likely to land plum assignments when they return to the fleet. The School of Advanced Warfighting, a highly competitive program primarily for majors, will soon select two dozen students out of as many as 150 applicants to begin a yearlong program here in 2016. Graduates earn a master’s degree in operational studies and the secondary Marine air-ground task force planner military occupational specialty.
“They immediately go to serve on generals’ staffs,” said Lt. Col. Terry Johnson, the school’s deputy director, who completed the program in 2006.
The program is a paradise for military academics, but it’s not for slackers.
Once enrolled, the 24 students break into two groups of 12. Each group consists primarily of Marines, but often includes a sailor, airman, soldier and international officer. They study past and current conflicts, discuss case studies and read more than 20,000 pages — about twice the reading load at the Command and Staff College.
And the lessons don’t end in the classroom. Throughout the year, students take three trips to study famous battlefields. The trips include two 18-day tours to study battlefields in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region as well as shorter trips to American sites. The officers visit some of the most storied battlefields, including Dien Bien Phu, where Vietnamese forces defeated the French in 1954, and Gallipoli, Turkey, where the first modern amphibious landing occurred in 1915.
“They have read the stories, seen the maps, but when they walk the terrain, it etches that image into their mind’s eye,” Johnson said.
Those unique insights mean graduates have “a strong record of selection for promotion and command,” according to Marine administrative message 382/15, which details the program and its application process. The program helps officers learn how to derive critical insights from large quantities of information, make timely and effective decisions, and develop stronger written and verbal communication skills so they can give clear orders.
The rigorous school is all volunteer, unlike other programs required for promotion. Students are selected based not just on performance as a Marine officer, but on their academic track record, said Dr. Gordon Rudd, a retired Army Green Beret and professor here.
To make the cut, officers must have demonstrated exceptional command experience and performed well in all professional military education. Eligible Marines must also meet rank and time on station requirements. They must also be able to receive top secret security clearances.
Strong candidates are encouraged to submit by Oct. 8, despite the high bar for entrance.
“Sometimes there is this aura that you have to be a Jedi knight,” Johnson said. “You just have to be a strong leader with interpersonal skills and the capacity to keep up with the reading.”
