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.

Originally Posted by brinktk

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.

Originally Posted by I3BrigPvSk

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!

Originally Posted by brinktk

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

Originally Posted by I3BrigPvSk

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?

Originally Posted by brinktk

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.

Originally Posted by MontyB

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.

Originally Posted by I3BrigPvSk

Yep, I completely ignore him now.

That is the smartest thing you've said all week!

Originally Posted by brinktk

That is the smartest thing you've said all week!

I am a genius.

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

Originally Posted by I3BrigPvSk

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.

Originally Posted by brinktk

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.