Distance students do not relocate to Carlisle, but instead continue full-time employment as CEOs, small business owners, doctors, lawyers, government officials, or homeschool parents, among other occupations.
Every year, 384 joint U.S. military and government civilians, along with international fellows from allied and partner nations, descend upon the U.S. Army War College (USAWC) to receive 10 months of fully immersive learning in rural Pennsylvania. Students leave the operational demands of their military careers to learn strategic concepts, benefit from face-to-face small group discussions, establish lifelong professional connections, and take full advantage of opportunities for self-improvement. The Carlisle Experience, describes the resident program designed to unleash individual potential to the benefit of the organization.
Complementing the USAWC’s resident offering is the distance learning program. Its powerful, two-year, asynchronously delivered curriculum produces more graduates than the resident program does, and both meet the same imperative to deliver highly capable senior leaders. Starting in 1967, distance program students would read their “box of books” and send written assignments to instructors by mail. Learners met the course objectives, but did not receive the same interaction with peers and mentors as the resident program did. Over time, the distance program evolved, as technologies improved student engagement and interaction within the virtual seminar.
Today’s resident Carlisle Experience offers face-to-face interactions and activities with which the distance students only rarely connect. Instead, the distance program provides a potent opportunity to grow strategic leaders through a modified narrative, the Carlisle Experience for Distance Learners (CEDL). Previously undefined, the CEDL builds upon the value of the Carlisle Experience and an already exceptional distance program. This concept bridges the gap between the original “box-of-books” and the evolution of virtual education to leverage the full range of adaptive and transformative instructional tools to create an exceptional experience for students.
The Carlisle Experience for Distance Learners
Distance learners face unique challenges developing their own Carlisle Experience. Distance students do not relocate to Carlisle, but instead continue full-time employment as CEOs, small business owners, doctors, lawyers, government officials, or homeschool parents, among other occupations. A typical distance class comprises 13% active duty, 33% Army Reserve, 33% National Guard, 7% government civilian, 3% international military, and 11% joint service students. Most Reserve and National Guard students work at a full-time civilian job, commit 10-20 hours to their military unit, carve out time for family and friends, and attempt to sustain a personal life. The program adds 15 hours of required coursework each week, for 39 weeks, to their regular routines, plus two in-person summer trips to Carlisle. The distance students’ experience is altogether different from that of residence students; therefore, it is crucial to define and communicate the Carlisle Experience for Distance Learners.
The distance learning experience is grounded in a seminar of 16-20 diverse students who build robust relationships through mostly asynchronous Socratic and discussion-based methods of learning. The virtual seminar is the core of student learning. There are countless opportunities for students to go beyond the core curriculum, but the seminar forms their primary experience.
A space, a feeling, and an identity
Army War College Distance Students manage their time and attention across competing priorities and time zones to overcome a dearth of connectedness compared to their resident peers. Connectedness therefore is the lynchpin to generating the CEDL, which is achieved through three areas: a space (a safe, virtual meeting place), a feeling (connectedness to each other and to the program), and an identity (“in it together”).
A Space.
The CEDL is grounded in weekly virtual interactions that create an academic and social space to promote trust, interdependence, and a shared value of achieving learning outcomes. Learning is asynchronous so students can connect and disconnect as their schedule permits. Synchronous approaches allow students to form deep trusting relationships and enrich their conversations with trusted colleagues. The interactions are grounded in discussion forums, journal entries, and virtual sessions. Interactions are small group-, student-, or instructor-led, and these help cement bonds within the seminar.
A Feeling.
The CEDL transcends the virtual space to create a feeling of belonging. Belongingness focuses on student connection, the joy of learning, and commitment to the profession. Distance learners must accomplish the same rigorous academic requirements as their resident peers; however, they must do all of this while also managing the demands of their concurrent, often full-time careers and other commitments. Distance students graduate tested, tried, and inspired to continue service in challenging military assignments at strategic levels.
Students graduate from the rigorous academic program as improved versions of themselves, ready for strategic leadership in their military or civilian careers, and in their families and communities.
An Identity.
The identity of an Army War College student is the most important aspect of the CEDL. Students graduate from the rigorous academic program as improved versions of themselves, ready for strategic leadership in their military or civilian careers, and in their families and communities. Because they are under immense pressure and time commitments throughout the two years, these students form a core identity based on how they navigated this challenge together, while completing the same rigorous program as their resident peers and doing so while continuing their already busy lives.
Two-week Resident Courses
The distance program also consists of two two-week resident courses, at the end of the first and second years, when students meet in person and cement the CEDL. During the first year’s session, students are greeted by the USAWC’s commandant and other leaders. They also interact with senior government officials to discuss the instruments of national power, engage in robust seminar discussions, learn from each other, and socialize. Instructors form relationships, build teams, facilitate discussions, and remind students of the herculean efforts they are accomplishing. The final in-person resident course culminates their two-year journey with a capstone exercise, engagement with national security professionals, and continued deep discussions on national-level challenges.
CEDL Opportunities
The CEDL provides eligible professionals with the time and commitment to acquire the skills and perspectives resident students get but delivered in a virtual format. Distance program students can partake in live or recorded presentations by senior leaders such as the Secretary of the Army, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and many other key governmental and academic leaders, to glean their strategic perspectives. Noon-time lectures, the Commandant’s Reading Program, cinematic events, and other opportunities hosted at the Army War College are open to distance students, to widen their strategic apertures. Distance students can also work on personal growth endeavors, to include full use of the Army War College’s assessment programs and mentorship opportunities offered by trained faculty. In addition, they have options to develop themselves through holistic health and fitness regimens and to understand and improve their mental, sleep, nutritional, physical, and spiritual health. These opportunities are developed through a ‘whole-of-college’ approach, to ensure distance students can optimize and enrich their experiences as much as possible.
Graduating the Carlisle Experience for Distance Learners
After two years of intense coursework and balancing competing demands, graduates walk across the stage at Carlisle Barracks and receive their master’s degrees in strategic studies from the commandant. This exchange symbolizes a monumental commitment to the profession of arms by these military and civilian scholars. From a distance, the CEDL robustly supports students’ real-life commitments, professional military education, and personal growth. The space, feeling, and identity of the CEDL provides students with all they need to become strategic thinkers and advisors They must also master the art and science of joint military employment, lead diverse interagency teams, and communicate effectively in the face of complex problems.
Their strategic studies degree is the culmination of such military professionals’ commitment to developing skills to address current global problems. Despite the challenge, distance graduates receive the highest support from the Army War College to ensure they gain a Carlisle Experience comparable to the resident program. Far from offering a legacy “box-of-books” program, the College now places special and dedicated emphasis on developing, communicating, and executing the CEDL to fully engage and advise future ranks of general and flag officers and their civilian counterparts.
Stephen T. Messenger, Doctor of Strategic Leadership, is a colonel in the U.S. Army and the Director of First Year Studies in the Department of Distance Education at the United States Army War College
Jolene M. Trout, Doctor of Education, is a Senior Fellow in the Office of Educational Methodology at the United States Army War College
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Army War College, the U.S. Army, or the Department of Defense.
Photo Credit: Created by Gemini, extended by Fotor