Military history instructor course

brinktk

Active member
I just got back from a 2 week Army course at Ft Leavenworth, Kansas covering how to teach American Military History to cadets (this course is required for them to commission)

The short of it....it was a blast! Easily the most enjoyable Army school I have EVER gone through in 14 years of military service. Of course, since the Army isn't fond of its' members having so much fun, I get to leave my family less than a week later and spend over 3 months at glorious Ft. Knox, Kentucky sucking at life.
 
I just got back from a 2 week Army course at Ft Leavenworth, Kansas covering how to teach American Military History to cadets (this course is required for them to commission)

The short of it....it was a blast! Easily the most enjoyable Army school I have EVER gone through in 14 years of military service. Of course, since the Army isn't fond of its' members having so much fun, I get to leave my family less than a week later and spend over 3 months at glorious Ft. Knox, Kentucky sucking at life.

Is it the Army War College you are talking about? I have been listening to some of the lectures from it and they are interesting.
 
Is it the Army War College you are talking about? I have been listening to some of the lectures from it and they are interesting.

Yes, it is at the Army War College and almost all the professors that instructed my class also instruct for the combat studies institute or the War college itself. It is a beautiful area with tons to do. It certainly ignited my passion to pursue higher education in History/Military History and try to end up teaching at Westpoint and ultimately at Leavenworth.

The professors were totally helpful in giving me good guidance and ensured me that it was totally doable!
 
Yes, it is at the Army War College and almost all the professors that instructed my class also instruct for the combat studies institute or the War college itself. It is a beautiful area with tons to do. It certainly ignited my passion to pursue higher education in History/Military History and try to end up teaching at Westpoint and ultimately at Leavenworth.

The professors were totally helpful in giving me good guidance and ensured me that it was totally doable!

The academic world is really fun and you will not regret it for a moment even if you feel very drained at times. Good luck and i hope you reach to where you want to be. Maybe I will be listening to you in the future
 
The academic world is really fun and you will not regret it for a moment even if you feel very drained at times. Good luck and i hope you reach to where you want to be. Maybe I will be listening to you in the future

Are you saying you don't listen to him now?
:)

Yes, it is at the Army War College and almost all the professors that instructed my class also instruct for the combat studies institute or the War college itself. It is a beautiful area with tons to do. It certainly ignited my passion to pursue higher education in History/Military History and try to end up teaching at Westpoint and ultimately at Leavenworth.

The professors were totally helpful in giving me good guidance and ensured me that it was totally doable!

A lot of hours of study are required to be considered an expert in the history field though so you are in it for the long haul but I agree with you entirely and if I had the chance to start again I would probably have chosen a history field instead of an engineering one.
 
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Are you saying you don't listen to him now?
:)



A lot of hours of study are required to be considered an expert in the history field though so you are in it for the long haul but I agree with you entirely and if I had the chance to start again I would probably have chosen a history field instead of an engineering one.

Yep, I completely ignore him now. :D
 
I am a genius.

Are you focusing on certain parts of the Second World War or are you interested more contemporary military events?

I'm pretty broad on WWII, I have studied most areas of that war pretty deep. My areas of emphasis ebb and flow based off of what I feel I am weakest in.

I would say I've studied the Vietnam Conflict the most in depth in my studies and it will likely be what I move forward on in regards to a thesis and eventually a dissertation. There has been kind of a dip in quality writing about the period since Keith Nolan passed and maybe that is something I can rectify someday.

I have also dedicated quite a lot of time to the current (i.e. Last 50 years) middle eastern conflicts....but I'm not sure I can be as objective as I should be as a historian because of my personal involvement in some of these conflicts. I will still keep studying them out of interest, however, I do realize I have blinders in some areas and the only writing I would likely ever do in regards to this time period would be war memoirs and nothing more.

Honestly, I really like history across the board and I wish I was knowledgable on all of it! I suppose I'll keep trying until I either die or time travel is invented lol.
 
I'm pretty broad on WWII, I have studied most areas of that war pretty deep. My areas of emphasis ebb and flow based off of what I feel I am weakest in.

I would say I've studied the Vietnam Conflict the most in depth in my studies and it will likely be what I move forward on in regards to a thesis and eventually a dissertation. There has been kind of a dip in quality writing about the period since Keith Nolan passed and maybe that is something I can rectify someday.

I have also dedicated quite a lot of time to the current (i.e. Last 50 years) middle eastern conflicts....but I'm not sure I can be as objective as I should be as a historian because of my personal involvement in some of these conflicts. I will still keep studying them out of interest, however, I do realize I have blinders in some areas and the only writing I would likely ever do in regards to this time period would be war memoirs and nothing more.

Honestly, I really like history across the board and I wish I was knowledgable on all of it! I suppose I'll keep trying until I either die or time travel is invented lol.

Even though WW2 has been hashed over so many times it still has room for clarity. Much of this was due to the original (mainly German and Stalinist publicized views held on the eastern front). After the fall of communism they are still trying to sort it out and for the most part it been proven to have been a considerably larger tragedy than it was made out to be (if that's humanly possible). I think most of the warfare concerning the allies has been fairly well documented in both Europe and the Pacific.
It's always interesting to ask what was the turning point in the European war (if their was such an event). I believe it was when Hitler flippantly declared war on the USA. Oh well off topic.
 
The ACW and the VN conflict are the more discussed Wars of the many Wars this Great Country has been involved in I'm not sure why this is .
 
I'm pretty broad on WWII, I have studied most areas of that war pretty deep. My areas of emphasis ebb and flow based off of what I feel I am weakest in.

I would say I've studied the Vietnam Conflict the most in depth in my studies and it will likely be what I move forward on in regards to a thesis and eventually a dissertation. There has been kind of a dip in quality writing about the period since Keith Nolan passed and maybe that is something I can rectify someday.

I have also dedicated quite a lot of time to the current (i.e. Last 50 years) middle eastern conflicts....but I'm not sure I can be as objective as I should be as a historian because of my personal involvement in some of these conflicts. I will still keep studying them out of interest, however, I do realize I have blinders in some areas and the only writing I would likely ever do in regards to this time period would be war memoirs and nothing more.

Honestly, I really like history across the board and I wish I was knowledgable on all of it! I suppose I'll keep trying until I either die or time travel is invented lol.

If I were you I would continue to study the Vietnam war. The Second World War is enormous and you might can write things about it when you have received the PhD title. I would avoid the middle east, it might be a trap with going there when you might be biased. I think we cannot completely avoid the bias problem, but the conflicts there are too close to your own experience.
 
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If I were you I would continue to study the Vietnam war. The Second World War is enormous and you might can write things about it when you have received the PhD title. I would avoid the middle east, it might be a trap with going there when you might be biased. I think we cannot completely avoid the bias problem, but the conflicts there are too close to your own experience.

I agree, for all the time I have put into trying to understand WW2 I have not even scratched the surface which I kind of find rather deflating.

I remember speaking to a professor at a local university about what we would do if we had our time all over again and oddly enough we both picked engineering of the Greek and Roman periods.

I think if I could pick a war to focus on it would either be the American Civil War or the Boer War, I have always had an interest in the ACW because it was unique in many ways and the Boer war because it is the first overseas war New Zealand took part in and it is not well known in these parts.

Just stating a fact and we cannot argue against facts. :p

No but we can interpret them to the point of disagreement.
:)
 
I have also dedicated quite a lot of time to the current (i.e. Last 50 years) middle eastern conflicts....but I'm not sure I can be as objective as I should be as a historian because of my personal involvement in some of these conflicts.

I would think a birds eye view would only prove useful in having to elaborate a conflict. Unless you feel personally prejudiced by the experience? A 10K feet viewpoint often misses key points. Often the best books, etc. interview soldiers, commanders etc. The old adage their is no substitute for experience.
 
I would think a birds eye view would only prove useful in having to elaborate a conflict. Unless you feel personally prejudiced by the experience? A 10K feet viewpoint often misses key points. Often the best books, etc. interview soldiers, commanders etc. The old adage their is no substitute for experience.

The danger with having your own experience of the matter might be the objectivity of the conflict. In all fields of science, the bias problem is always presence. We can try to reduce it's impact on the science, but not remove it completely, especially in the field of humanities. (history belongs there and not within social science) As long as the academic adviser for a Master thesis and a dissertation knew about it, he or she might be able to avoid the issues.
 
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