Is West Point meeting the needs of our officers?

This is my first blog on our Prozik family blog site. I am currently enrolled in Intermediate Level Education at Fort Gordon, Georgia and one of my requirements is to post a blog concerning my military service.

I am currently a MAJ in the Army and serve as a Comptroller with the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). I am a 1996 graduate from the United States Military Academy at West Point, and believe there needs to be a change in the educational training at the service academy based on the needs of today's officers.

Every graduate of West Point earns a Bachelor of Science, with a heavy emphasis on math and science. Engineering has a strong tradition at the service academy, as West Point was actually the first engineering school in the nation. However, the service academy must meet the needs of the Army, especially since the education is taxpayer funded. On today's battlefield in Afghanistan and Iraq, our leaders have emphasized the need for officers with more language and cultural skills. Officers must have the skills necessary to interact and engage with numerous and diverse cultural players.

I graduated from West Point in 1996 with a BS in Environmental Engineering. While my education was broad and did include 2 semesters of foreign language and some political science, military history, and philosophy classes, the vast majority of my classes were science based. From my deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, I agree that officers can benefit from taking more classes related to language and culture. I personally believe 2 semesters of a foreign language is inadequate. It is through these language and cultural skills that officers can effectively engage and interact with diverse populations to achieve success on the battlefield. Additional foreign language requirements is an option, as well as increasing the number of cultural exchange programs available to cadets.

West Point is strong on tradition and has continued to produce leaders of character to serve the nation. Having a diverse curriculum is important, but I also believe that the Department of the Army and West Point should continue to work together to match the education with the needs of our future officers.

MAJ Pete Prozik

Disclaimer:
“The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Army, Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government.”