State Guard Association of the United States War College

 “In this position [Army Chief of Staff] I am a political soldier, and I will have to put my training in rapping out orders and making snap decisions on the back burner and have to learn the art of persuasion and guile.  I must become an expert in a whole new set of skills.” 

--George Marshall, Army Chief of Staff


The State Guard Association of the United States War College course has three Phases with three Topics in each Phase. Throughout each topic are comprehension checks and there is a quiz at the end of each topic.  A comprehensive test finishes out each Phase.  You will not be allowed to progress to the next Topic unless you score at least 70% on each quiz.  You will not be able to progress to the next Phase unless you score a 70% on the Phase Test. When you have finished all three phases, you will be required to complete a course survey. Once you have completed the survey you will be provided with a certificate of completion.

For the Certificate of Completion:

1. The certificate generation module will only show up when you have completed all the requirements (pass the three section quizzes and the final exam with 70% or greater in each. Once that is attained, the certificate generation task/activity will go from being grayed out to being active for you to use.

2.  Please ensure your name is provided correctly in your profile and that it is not all CAPS and just the first letter is capitalized.

If you have questions, please email the PME Academy Commandant, BG Chago Santiago, at chago.santiago@SGAUS.org.

 

SGAUS War College Objective

State Guard Association of the United States War College Motto:

“Applying Military Strategic Concepts to Prepare for State Domestic Operations”

At the end of the SGAUS War College, the student will be knowledgeable in areas necessary for the Senior Officer to succeed in strategic planning and leadership at the State Defense Force senior command level. This set of skills is not all inclusive but will provide the student with more focused knowledge in areas necessary for developing the Goals and Mission Essential Tasks of a State Defense Force as well as leading, influencing, and developing others in a team environment. Disaster response is referenced throughout this course, as disaster management has become a major focus of many State Defense Forces, however, the strategic concepts apply to all military endeavors.

Each topic is a written lecture which is a condensed content of the reference(s) made available at the start of the topic. Additional lecture material, information, and opinion, not found in the supplied reference, may be included by the course developer without added citation to the lecture.

It is recommended that the student views the video(s) and reviews the reference materials before starting the topic/module.  Complete reading of the reference material may or may not be necessary.

Plan for Success

 1.      Read the State Guard Association of the United States (SGAUS) War College Introduction and Objectives

a.      Review the U.S. Army War College Homepage

b.      Review the U.S. Army War College Online Journal – War Room. Subscription to the online journal is free and provides a continuous stream of important and interesting subject matter.

c.      Review the U.S. Army’ YouTube channel.

d.      Consider purchasing “The U.S. Army War College: Military Education in a Democracy,” as this book gives an overview of the creation of the U.S. Army War College, and its changes over the years

2.      Read the Introduction at the beginning of each Phase for an overview of the Topics.

3.      Watch the video(s), in its(their) entirety, at the beginning of each Topic.

4.      Open and review the written reference material at the beginning of each Topic. Use the written reference material to provide more depth to the written topic instructional material.

5.      Pay attention to the quiz question at the end of each page. These questions will be comprehensively reviewed at the end of each Topic with a 10-question topic Quiz. Then selected quiz questions will be included in the 15-question end of Phase Test.

6.      At the completion of the SGAUS War College course, spend time completing the course evaluation. The information that students provide will be used to evaluate and strengthen the course curriculum.

 

U.S. Army War College References

U.S. Army War College Homepage

U.S. Army War College Online Journal – War Room: subscribe (at no cost) for articles and podcasts

U.S. Army War College YouTube Channel

 

Book Reference

The U.S. Army War College: Military Education in a Democracy

Judith Hicks Stiehm. (2002)

Temple University Press, Philadelphia

ISBN-10: 1566399602

ISBN-13: 978-1566399609

 


Phase I Military Strategy

Military Strategy Introduction

Phase I Military Strategy consists of 3 topics: military strategy, military strategy throughout history, and developing military strategists.

Topic 1 Military Strategy defines military strategy.

Topic 2 Military Strategic Theory in History briefly discusses the biographies and theories of 4 well-known military strategists, and 3 lesser-known strategists:

o       Carl von Clausewitz
o       Sun Tzu
o       Helmuth von Moltke “the Elder”
o       Antoine-Henri Jomini
o       Chanakya (Kautilva)
o       Vegetius
o       Thucydides

Topic 3 Strategic Thinking and Decision-Making discusses conceptual and complex planning.
Topic 1 Military Strategy
 
Watch the U.S. Army War College video: Developing Strategy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEVC0WoE-3M
 
Reference on Military Strategy: U.S. Army War College, Guide to Strategy


Senior Leadership Introduction

Phase II, Senior Leadership, consists of 3 topics: The Senior Leader, Strategic Decision-making and Planning, and Officer Talent Management.

Topic 1 The Senior Leader defines and discusses the military leader.

Topic 2 Developing Military Strategists presents the skills and qualifications that are desirable in State Military Forces Strategists.

o   A case study on the military career of General Jacob L. Devers is provided as an illustrative example of an efficient military strategist.

Topic 3 Officer Talent Management is a military organization’s approach to developing and implementing a personnel system that capitalizes on the unique talents of its people.