Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Kansas City Star
August 14, 2007
Pg. B1
By Dawn Bormann, The Kansas City Star
Fort Leavenworth now has the finest education center in the country, politicians and military officials said Monday as they dedicated the $149 million Lewis and Clark Center.
The imposing 410,000 square-foot brick building, which houses the Army's Command and General Staff College, will transform the way the military trains its American and international officers.
The Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth trains not only the future leaders of the U.S. Army, but those of other countries. Students carried the flags of their countries at Monday's dedication of the Lewis and Clark Center, the 410,000 square-foot structure that houses the college.
"The possibilities are really almost unlimited in what we can do in the future," said Fort Leavenworth's commander, Lt. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV.
Moving from a building where overloading electrical circuits was a concern, the college is sure to be envied by institutions across the country.
Massive flat-screen monitors fill the spots usually reserved for chalkboards.
All 96 classrooms are outfitted with teleconferencing cameras, which will allow students to interact with experts from almost anywhere in the world about any subject on any given day.
Even as some officials praised the 21st-century technology sitting under the false floors and in the ceilings, Caldwell said that one-on-one discussions, lively debates and relationships will remain at the forefront of the academic environment.
"The bottom line to everything we do is still about people. If you don't develop people, the technology is irrelevant," Caldwell said. "We don't teach them what to think, but we teach them how to think."
That is where the center's namesakes, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, come in.
"Their feat is sometimes overlooked," Caldwell said Monday as the two men were inducted into the school's Hall of Fame.
Lewis and Clark never attended the school, but during their expedition across Louisiana Territory, they noted that the Leavenworth area was suitable for a fort.
Caldwell said that when the military had a challenging and dangerous mission, it called on two young Army captains to lead the Corps of Discovery. Looking at the more than 1,000 midlevel officers enrolled in the college, Caldwell didn't have to note the sacrifices and missions of the latest crop of students at the Command and General Staff College.
For 10 months officers learn about everything from history to Arabic, the Cold War to counterinsurgency tactics. By the time officers leave the school, they are said to be prepared in warfare techniques and ready for leadership positions.
The officers school often is considered a career-changing course. Past graduates include former Secretary of State Colin Powell and Indonesia's president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
Starting in 1958, the college was housed in Bell Hall. Thousands of students passed through its halls as the curriculum changed from Cold War tactics to counterinsurgency efforts. But as the Army evolved, the building's plumbing and infrastructure crumbled. Rather than fix the aging building, military officials opted for a fresh start.
Bell Hall will be demolished, but its artifacts are displayed in the new center. Gifts from American and international officers - including paintings, gold plates, busts and uniforms - have been moved to the new building. Even the stained-glass windows were moved.
Designers went to great lengths to make the cafeteria, barbershop and bookstore look like a typical university student union. Even a nondescript bar provides a place for students to socialize.
Military officials praised Sen. Pat Roberts on Monday, saying that if the building hadn't been named for Lewis and Clark, it probably would bear the name of the Kansas Republican, who was instrumental in securing funding for the project.
"I'm honored that I was able to take up the Bell Hall crusade," Roberts said in response.
August 14, 2007
Pg. B1
By Dawn Bormann, The Kansas City Star
Fort Leavenworth now has the finest education center in the country, politicians and military officials said Monday as they dedicated the $149 million Lewis and Clark Center.
The imposing 410,000 square-foot brick building, which houses the Army's Command and General Staff College, will transform the way the military trains its American and international officers.
The Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth trains not only the future leaders of the U.S. Army, but those of other countries. Students carried the flags of their countries at Monday's dedication of the Lewis and Clark Center, the 410,000 square-foot structure that houses the college.
"The possibilities are really almost unlimited in what we can do in the future," said Fort Leavenworth's commander, Lt. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV.
Moving from a building where overloading electrical circuits was a concern, the college is sure to be envied by institutions across the country.
Massive flat-screen monitors fill the spots usually reserved for chalkboards.
All 96 classrooms are outfitted with teleconferencing cameras, which will allow students to interact with experts from almost anywhere in the world about any subject on any given day.
Even as some officials praised the 21st-century technology sitting under the false floors and in the ceilings, Caldwell said that one-on-one discussions, lively debates and relationships will remain at the forefront of the academic environment.
"The bottom line to everything we do is still about people. If you don't develop people, the technology is irrelevant," Caldwell said. "We don't teach them what to think, but we teach them how to think."
That is where the center's namesakes, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, come in.
"Their feat is sometimes overlooked," Caldwell said Monday as the two men were inducted into the school's Hall of Fame.
Lewis and Clark never attended the school, but during their expedition across Louisiana Territory, they noted that the Leavenworth area was suitable for a fort.
Caldwell said that when the military had a challenging and dangerous mission, it called on two young Army captains to lead the Corps of Discovery. Looking at the more than 1,000 midlevel officers enrolled in the college, Caldwell didn't have to note the sacrifices and missions of the latest crop of students at the Command and General Staff College.
For 10 months officers learn about everything from history to Arabic, the Cold War to counterinsurgency tactics. By the time officers leave the school, they are said to be prepared in warfare techniques and ready for leadership positions.
The officers school often is considered a career-changing course. Past graduates include former Secretary of State Colin Powell and Indonesia's president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
Starting in 1958, the college was housed in Bell Hall. Thousands of students passed through its halls as the curriculum changed from Cold War tactics to counterinsurgency efforts. But as the Army evolved, the building's plumbing and infrastructure crumbled. Rather than fix the aging building, military officials opted for a fresh start.
Bell Hall will be demolished, but its artifacts are displayed in the new center. Gifts from American and international officers - including paintings, gold plates, busts and uniforms - have been moved to the new building. Even the stained-glass windows were moved.
Designers went to great lengths to make the cafeteria, barbershop and bookstore look like a typical university student union. Even a nondescript bar provides a place for students to socialize.
Military officials praised Sen. Pat Roberts on Monday, saying that if the building hadn't been named for Lewis and Clark, it probably would bear the name of the Kansas Republican, who was instrumental in securing funding for the project.
"I'm honored that I was able to take up the Bell Hall crusade," Roberts said in response.