United States Army School of Advanced Military Studies
Encyclopedia
The United States Army School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS) is one of five United States Army
schools that make up the United States Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth
, Kansas
. The school consists of two programs: the larger Advanced Military Studies Program (AMSP), and the Advanced Operational Art Studies Fellowship (AOASF), which is attended by more senior officers. The student body is small, but diverse; the U.S. armed forces, U.S. interagency, and allied military forces are represented at the school.
The first class, in 1984, graduated 13 students. Due to increasing requirements for SAMS graduates by the U.S. military, the school was expanded during the 1990s. The 2010 graduating class comprised over 120 students.
The graduate school
which issues a Masters Degree in Military Arts and Sciences is both a training ground and a think tank for some of the Army's brightest officers. The Army chief of staff, and sometimes the Joint Chiefs of Staff
, asks SAMS graduates to develop contingency plans for future military operations. SAMS planners have supported every major U.S. military campaign since the school's inception in 1984. Graduates are colloquially known as "Jedi Knights".
Selection for this intense academic program includes an application process, interview, and an examination. SAMS attendees must complete the U.S. Army's Command and General Staff School or an equivalent intermediate-level education course offered by another uniformed service. The student body of SAMS comprises mostly U.S. Army field grade officers from combat
, combat support
, and combat service support
branches. However, in the 1987–1988 academic year, the U.S. joint services began participation with three U.S. Air Force graduates; officers from the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps followed in the next two years. In later years, other U.S. government agencies also began sending students to SAMS. The course is co-ed; Major Linda Linden became the first female graduate in 1989. Various foreign militaries are represented in the student body. "The first international officers, from Norway
and Canada
, graduated in academic year 1998–1999." Numerous allied militaries are now represented at SAMS, including Argentina
, Australia
, Canada, Colombia
, Germany
, Spain
, and the United Kingdom
. The first United States Agency for International Development
(USAID) graduate was John Riodan, who attended the AMSP in 2007–2008; the first Federal Bureau of Investigation
student, Special Agent
Danny Day, attended the AOASF beginning in 2009. Warrant officers
were first admitted to SAMS in the 2010–2011 class, including its highest ranking warrant officer graduate, CW5 John Robinson.
The mission of SAMS is to "educate the future leaders of the Armed Forces, Allies and the Interagency at the graduate level to be agile and adaptive leaders who think critically at the strategic and operational levels to solve complex ambiguous problems". Lieutenant General David Huntoon stated that
Similar schools are offered by the United States Marine Corps and the United States Air Force: the Marine Corps' School of Advanced Warfighting (SAW), and the Air Force's School of Advanced Air and Space Studies (SAASS).
In its early years, the value of the school had not yet been established. The "first test of battle" for SAMS graduates came during Operation Just Cause. A core planning cell of seven SAMS graduates "crafted a well rehearsed and well executed plan that simultaneously struck some roughly 50 objectives in a single coordinated blow". The results of Operation Just Cause reverberated within the school. An end-of-course survey in 1990 suggested that—considering the operation—" 'LIC [low intensity conflict] needed more emphasis', and that the course needed 'more joint participation' ".
Lieutenant General Guy C. Swan noted that SAMS graduates were indispensable in Europe after the fall of the Berlin wall
and the dissolution of the WARSAW Pact. SAMS graduates were expected to "re-engineer the decades of planning that had gone into the GDP [General Defense Plan] almost overnight". Swan stated that this was "the first true test of SAMS on a large scale". SAMS graduates are "remembered most famously in the early days for producing the 'Jedi Knights' employed by Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf
in developing the famous 'left hook' during Desert Storm".
Lieutenant General David Huntoon stated in 2009 that SAMS "has established a corps of leaders, thinkers and planners who in the last two decades have reset the conditions for American military success”. As of 2009, SAMS graduates have supported every major U.S. military campaign operation during the last 25 years. SAMS graduates are known "for their critical thinking skill sets",
and are a "commodity [consistently] called for by combatant commanders around the world today". In 2010, Brigadier General Sean MacFarland stated that,
In 2010, Army Vice Chief of Staff
Peter W. Chiarelli
, "praised the school ... for being at the forefront of the effort to remake strategic military planning for the 21st century".
On 30 August 2011 the school moved to the newly renovated Muir Hall at Fort Leavenworth.
Subjects taught at SAMS include: Military Campaigns
, Effects-Based Operations, Joint Warfare
, Philosophy
, Military History
, the European Neighbourhood Policy
, Military Strategy
, and Military Theory
, with optional additional study in Red Team
, Special Forces
Operational Planning, and Systemic Operational Design. Feedback from students with extensive operational experience is used to continuously reshape and improve the classes and training.
As part of the completion requirements for the course, students "write either one or two monographs (depending on the requirement at the time) and are awarded a Master of Military Art and Science (MMAS) graduate degree" at the end of the school.
The AMSP program is intended to produce leaders who, "(1) Are innovative leaders, willing to accept risk and to experiment, (2) Are adaptive leaders who excel at the art of command, (3) Anticipate the future operational environment, (4) Apply critical & creative thinking skills in order to solve complex problems, (5) Demonstrate mastery of Operational Art and Doctrine, (6) Synthesize the elements of US national power in Joint, Interagency, Intergovernmental and Multinational (JIIM) operations, [and] (7) Demonstrate Effective Communications."
Following graduation from the AMSF program, officers serve in a twelve-month utilization tour in a critical battle staff position within a U.S. Brigade Combat Team
, division or corps headquarters.
This program was begun in 1985 as the Advanced Operational Studies Fellowship (AOASF). Because highly-qualified officers could not remain as faculty permanently, this program was designed to mitigate the effects of periodic faculty reassignments due to operational requirements. The AOSF program allowed students to complete the AMSP in their first year and then serve as the "principal instructor" for the AMSP during their second year. In 1995, the name of the program was changed to its current version.
During the first year, the Fellows’ curriculum includes graduate-level study of military art and science, visits to combatant and service component commands, a robust guest speaker program, and practical exercises in campaign design. Graduates of AOASF earn a Masters Degree in Military Art and Science". In the second half of the course, AOASF students "serve as AMSP graduate-level seminar leaders or other faculty positions as assigned by the SAMS Director". Graduates of the AOASF receive credit as a War College graduate.
The AOASF is designed to graduate "(1) Innovative risk takers willing to experiment, (2) Exceptional commanders, schooled in the art of command, and leaders of campaign planning and strategic and operational design, (3) Creative leaders who can solve complex-adaptive problems at the strategic and theater-strategic levels of conflict, (4) Expert evaluators of the practical strategic and operational implications of cultural differences, (4) Masters at developing and mentoring junior officers, and (5) Demonstrate effective communications."
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
schools that make up the United States Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth
Fort Leavenworth
Fort Leavenworth is a United States Army facility located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, immediately north of the city of Leavenworth in the upper northeast portion of the state. It is the oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C. and has been in operation for over 180 years...
, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
. The school consists of two programs: the larger Advanced Military Studies Program (AMSP), and the Advanced Operational Art Studies Fellowship (AOASF), which is attended by more senior officers. The student body is small, but diverse; the U.S. armed forces, U.S. interagency, and allied military forces are represented at the school.
The first class, in 1984, graduated 13 students. Due to increasing requirements for SAMS graduates by the U.S. military, the school was expanded during the 1990s. The 2010 graduating class comprised over 120 students.
The graduate school
Graduate school
A graduate school is a school that awards advanced academic degrees with the general requirement that students must have earned a previous undergraduate degree...
which issues a Masters Degree in Military Arts and Sciences is both a training ground and a think tank for some of the Army's brightest officers. The Army chief of staff, and sometimes the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Joint Chiefs of Staff
The Joint Chiefs of Staff is a body of senior uniformed leaders in the United States Department of Defense who advise the Secretary of Defense, the Homeland Security Council, the National Security Council and the President on military matters...
, asks SAMS graduates to develop contingency plans for future military operations. SAMS planners have supported every major U.S. military campaign since the school's inception in 1984. Graduates are colloquially known as "Jedi Knights".
Background
Combat Arms
Combat Arms is a multiplayer game, free-to-play modern first-person shooter developed by the South Korea-based developer Doobic Studios, and published by Nexon. The game uses the Lithtech game engine to produce its graphics.- Gameplay :...
, combat support
Combat support
In the United States Army, the term combat support refers to units that provide fire support and operational assistance to combat elements. Combat support units provide specialized support functions to combat units in the areas of chemical warfare, combat engineering, intelligence, security, and...
, and combat service support
Combat service support
Combat service support is a subset of military logistics. Combat service support is more limited in depth than logistics, as it primarily addresses those factors directly influencing combat operations.-United States Army:...
branches. However, in the 1987–1988 academic year, the U.S. joint services began participation with three U.S. Air Force graduates; officers from the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps followed in the next two years. In later years, other U.S. government agencies also began sending students to SAMS. The course is co-ed; Major Linda Linden became the first female graduate in 1989. Various foreign militaries are represented in the student body. "The first international officers, from Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, graduated in academic year 1998–1999." Numerous allied militaries are now represented at SAMS, including Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Canada, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The first United States Agency for International Development
United States Agency for International Development
The United States Agency for International Development is the United States federal government agency primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid. President John F. Kennedy created USAID in 1961 by executive order to implement development assistance programs in the areas...
(USAID) graduate was John Riodan, who attended the AMSP in 2007–2008; the first Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
student, Special Agent
Special agent
Special agent is usually the title for a detective or investigator for a state, county, municipal, federal or tribal government. An agent is a worker for any federal agency, and a secret agent is one who works for an intelligence agency....
Danny Day, attended the AOASF beginning in 2009. Warrant officers
Warrant Officer (United States)
In the United States military, the rank of warrant officer is rated as an officer above the senior-most enlisted ranks, as well as officer cadets and candidates, but below the officer grade of O-1...
were first admitted to SAMS in the 2010–2011 class, including its highest ranking warrant officer graduate, CW5 John Robinson.
The mission of SAMS is to "educate the future leaders of the Armed Forces, Allies and the Interagency at the graduate level to be agile and adaptive leaders who think critically at the strategic and operational levels to solve complex ambiguous problems". Lieutenant General David Huntoon stated that
SAMS could rightly be called the most brilliant education for critical thinking in military history, and the most revolutionary change in the planning structure of standing armies since the creation of the Prussian General Staff in the mid 1800s.
Similar schools are offered by the United States Marine Corps and the United States Air Force: the Marine Corps' School of Advanced Warfighting (SAW), and the Air Force's School of Advanced Air and Space Studies (SAASS).
History
"SAMS graduated its first class of 13 students in May 1984, and subsequent classes over the next 16 years averaged 48. In 2000, the Army began expanding the program from four seminars to the current nine to more than double the size of the class." The school conducts two classes per year, one graduating in December, and one graduating in May or June. In 2010, the school's graduating class included more than 120 students—the largest class ever in the school's 26-year history. As of 2009, more than 1700 students from 13 countries have successfully completed the course.In its early years, the value of the school had not yet been established. The "first test of battle" for SAMS graduates came during Operation Just Cause. A core planning cell of seven SAMS graduates "crafted a well rehearsed and well executed plan that simultaneously struck some roughly 50 objectives in a single coordinated blow". The results of Operation Just Cause reverberated within the school. An end-of-course survey in 1990 suggested that—considering the operation—" 'LIC [low intensity conflict] needed more emphasis', and that the course needed 'more joint participation' ".
Lieutenant General Guy C. Swan noted that SAMS graduates were indispensable in Europe after the fall of the Berlin wall
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...
and the dissolution of the WARSAW Pact. SAMS graduates were expected to "re-engineer the decades of planning that had gone into the GDP [General Defense Plan] almost overnight". Swan stated that this was "the first true test of SAMS on a large scale". SAMS graduates are "remembered most famously in the early days for producing the 'Jedi Knights' employed by Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf
Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr.
General Herbert Norman Schwarzkopf KCB , also known as "Stormin' Norman" and "The Bear", is a retired United States Army General who, while he served as Commander of U.S. Central Command, was commander of the Coalition Forces in the Gulf War of 1991.-Early life:Schwarzkopf was born in Trenton, New...
in developing the famous 'left hook' during Desert Storm".
Lieutenant General David Huntoon stated in 2009 that SAMS "has established a corps of leaders, thinkers and planners who in the last two decades have reset the conditions for American military success”. As of 2009, SAMS graduates have supported every major U.S. military campaign operation during the last 25 years. SAMS graduates are known "for their critical thinking skill sets",
and are a "commodity [consistently] called for by combatant commanders around the world today". In 2010, Brigadier General Sean MacFarland stated that,
In a crisis, the president always asks, 'where are the aircraft carriers?' In the Army, leaders ask, 'Where are the SAMS graduates?' Just as the aircraft carrier was a game changer in naval warfare, SAMS graduates and practitioners of operational art have been game changers in land warfare.
In 2010, Army Vice Chief of Staff
Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army
The Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army is the principal advisor and assistant to the Army Chief of Staff, the second-highest ranking officer in the US Army. He handles the day to day administration of the Army bureaucracy, freeing the Chief of Staff to attend to the interservice...
Peter W. Chiarelli
Peter W. Chiarelli
Peter W. Chiarelli is a United States Army General who is serving as the 32nd and current Vice Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army. He previously served as commander, Multi-National Corps—Iraq under General George W. Casey, Jr. He assumed his current assignment on August 4, 2008...
, "praised the school ... for being at the forefront of the effort to remake strategic military planning for the 21st century".
On 30 August 2011 the school moved to the newly renovated Muir Hall at Fort Leavenworth.
Curricula
The School for Advanced Military Studies comprises two programs available for students: the Advanced Military Studies Program (AMSP) and the Advanced Operational Arts Studies Fellowship (AOASF). The AMSP "educates students in military arts and science", while the AOASF focuses on "planning and executing full-spectrum operations in coordination with other government and nongovernmental agencies."Subjects taught at SAMS include: Military Campaigns
Military campaign
In the military sciences, the term military campaign applies to large scale, long duration, significant military strategy plan incorporating a series of inter-related military operations or battles forming a distinct part of a larger conflict often called a war...
, Effects-Based Operations, Joint Warfare
Joint warfare
Joint warfare is a military doctrine which places priority on the integration of the various service branches of a state's armed forces into one unified command...
, Philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
, Military History
Military history
Military history is a humanities discipline within the scope of general historical recording of armed conflict in the history of humanity, and its impact on the societies, their cultures, economies and changing intra and international relationships....
, the European Neighbourhood Policy
European Neighbourhood Policy
The European Neighbourhood Policy is a foreign relations instrument of the European Union which seeks to tie those countries to the east and south of the EU into the EU...
, Military Strategy
Military strategy
Military strategy is a set of ideas implemented by military organizations to pursue desired strategic goals. Derived from the Greek strategos, strategy when it appeared in use during the 18th century, was seen in its narrow sense as the "art of the general", 'the art of arrangement' of troops...
, and Military Theory
Military theory
Military theory is the analysis of normative behavior and trends in military affairs and military history, beyond simply describing events in war and military theories, especially since the influence of Clausewitz in the nineteenth century attempt to encapsulate the complex cultural, political and...
, with optional additional study in Red Team
Red Team
A red team is a group of penetration testers that assess the security of an organization, which is often unaware of the existence of the team or the exact assignment. Red teams provide a more realistic picture of the security readiness than exercises, role playing, or announced assessments...
, Special Forces
Special forces
Special forces, or special operations forces are terms used to describe elite military tactical teams trained to perform high-risk dangerous missions that conventional units cannot perform...
Operational Planning, and Systemic Operational Design. Feedback from students with extensive operational experience is used to continuously reshape and improve the classes and training.
As part of the completion requirements for the course, students "write either one or two monographs (depending on the requirement at the time) and are awarded a Master of Military Art and Science (MMAS) graduate degree" at the end of the school.
Advanced Military Studies Program
The majority of SAMS students participate in the Advanced Military Studies Program. It is designed to educate leaders within the United States "Armed Forces, our Allies, and the Interagency at the graduate level to think strategically and operationally to solve complex problems across the security environment. Graduates are innovative risk-takers willing to experiment and excel at adaptive leadership and at the art of command. Officers are critical thinkers who are able to synthesize the elements of U.S. national power and anticipate future operational environments." Students who complete the course receive a Masters Degree in Military Art and Science."The AMSP program is intended to produce leaders who, "(1) Are innovative leaders, willing to accept risk and to experiment, (2) Are adaptive leaders who excel at the art of command, (3) Anticipate the future operational environment, (4) Apply critical & creative thinking skills in order to solve complex problems, (5) Demonstrate mastery of Operational Art and Doctrine, (6) Synthesize the elements of US national power in Joint, Interagency, Intergovernmental and Multinational (JIIM) operations, [and] (7) Demonstrate Effective Communications."
Following graduation from the AMSF program, officers serve in a twelve-month utilization tour in a critical battle staff position within a U.S. Brigade Combat Team
Brigade combat team
The brigade combat team is the basic deployable unit of maneuver in the US Army. A brigade combat team consists of one combat arms branch maneuver brigade, and its attached support and fire units. A brigade combat team is generally commanded by a colonel , but in rare instances it is commanded by...
, division or corps headquarters.
Advanced Operational Art Studies Fellowship
The Advanced Operational Art Studies Fellowship is the "senior program" at SAMS. This course focuses on the operational and strategic realms of war and "prepares future Colonel-level commanders and operational planners for assignments ... within combatant and service component commands.This program was begun in 1985 as the Advanced Operational Studies Fellowship (AOASF). Because highly-qualified officers could not remain as faculty permanently, this program was designed to mitigate the effects of periodic faculty reassignments due to operational requirements. The AOSF program allowed students to complete the AMSP in their first year and then serve as the "principal instructor" for the AMSP during their second year. In 1995, the name of the program was changed to its current version.
During the first year, the Fellows’ curriculum includes graduate-level study of military art and science, visits to combatant and service component commands, a robust guest speaker program, and practical exercises in campaign design. Graduates of AOASF earn a Masters Degree in Military Art and Science". In the second half of the course, AOASF students "serve as AMSP graduate-level seminar leaders or other faculty positions as assigned by the SAMS Director". Graduates of the AOASF receive credit as a War College graduate.
The AOASF is designed to graduate "(1) Innovative risk takers willing to experiment, (2) Exceptional commanders, schooled in the art of command, and leaders of campaign planning and strategic and operational design, (3) Creative leaders who can solve complex-adaptive problems at the strategic and theater-strategic levels of conflict, (4) Expert evaluators of the practical strategic and operational implications of cultural differences, (4) Masters at developing and mentoring junior officers, and (5) Demonstrate effective communications."
Notable Graduates
- Lieutenant General William B. Caldwell, IV (Class of 1988)
- General Charles C. Campbell
- Lieutenant General L. D. Holder (AOASF Class of 1985, Director of SAMS 1987–1989)
- Lieutenant General David Huntoon (Class of 1988)
- Lieutenant General William WebsterWilliam WebsterWilliam Webster may refer to:* William Webster , British clergyman* William Bennett Webster , doctor, amateur geologist and political figure in Nova Scotia, Canada...
- Lieutenant General James Dubik (Class of 1991)
- Ray Barrett (Class of 1985)