Combat Studies Institute

Combat Studies Institute
United States Department of the Army · Public domain · source
Unit name	Combat Studies Institute
Dates	1985–present
Country	United States
Branch	United States Army
Garrison	Fort Leavenworth, Kansas
Role	Research and historical analysis
Command structure	United States Army Combined Arms Center

Combat Studies Institute

The Combat Studies Institute is a United States Army research center located at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, charged with analyzing World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, Operation Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation Enduring Freedom operations to inform doctrine, education, and training. It produces monographs, case studies, and oral histories that serve the United States Army Command and General Staff College, Combined Arms Center, and other United States Army Training and Doctrine Command elements while interfacing with civilian historians, think tanks, and allied institutions such as the Imperial War Museums, National Defense University, and NATO Allied Command Transformation.

History

Established in 1985 at Fort Leavenworth as part of broader reforms following analyses of Vietnam War lessons and the 1973 Yom Kippur War, the institute succeeded earlier Army historical and doctrinal study efforts tied to the Center for Army Lessons Learned and the United States Army War College. During the late Cold War the institute expanded analytic ties to the Allied Land Forces Central Europe community and contributed to post-Cold War assessments after the Gulf War. In the 2000s it grew its oral history programs documenting Iraq War and War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) experiences, collaborating with the Center for Military History and academic partners such as Georgetown University, Harvard University, and Kansas State University scholars. Institutional evolution included formal alignment under the United States Army Combined Arms Center and operational integration with the Command and General Staff College faculty.

Mission and Role

The institute’s mission centers on producing timely, relevant analysis for staff officers, planners, and educators engaged with campaigns such as Operation Iraqi Freedom and historical campaigns like Battle of Gettysburg, Battle of the Bulge, and Operation Market Garden. It provides research that supports doctrine promulgated by United States Army Training and Doctrine Command and informs wargaming at venues such as the Maneuver Center of Excellence and the Joint Chiefs of Staff educational exercises. The institute also advises on curriculum for professional military education at institutions including the United States Army Command and General Staff College and contributes to joint studies with the Air Force Research Laboratory and Naval War College.

Organizational Structure

Organized as a directorate under the United States Army Combined Arms Center, the institute comprises research divisions, editorial sections, and oral history teams that coordinate with the Center for Army Lessons Learned and the U.S. Army Center of Military History. Leadership typically includes a director with a senior historian or strategist background and deputy directors drawn from United States Army Reserve and active-duty personnel. The institute maintains liaison relationships with foreign military education establishments such as the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr, and the Australian Defence College to facilitate comparative studies and allied officer exchanges.

Research and Publications

The institute publishes monographs, peer-reviewed articles, edited volumes, and lesson-learned reports on topics ranging from tactical actions in the Battle of Chosin Reservoir to strategic assessments of Operation Torch and counterinsurgency analyses in the Malayan Emergency. Its publication series often appears in academic venues alongside works from the Center for the Study of War and Society and the Institute for the Study of War. Research topics have included combined arms maneuver studies referencing Blitzkrieg, analyses of logistics using cases from the Red Ball Express, and leadership vignettes featuring figures involved in the Normandy landings and the Tet Offensive. The institute’s editorial team supports authors through peer review and coordinates symposia with institutions such as the Smithsonian Institution and the Library of Congress.

Education and Training Programs

Supporting the United States Army Command and General Staff College curriculum, the institute supplies case-method instruction, seminar materials, and faculty development workshops grounded in historical case studies like the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, Anzio landings, and Soviet invasion of Afghanistan (1979–1989). It offers resident and non-resident courses, collaborates on faculty exchanges with the United States Military Academy at West Point, and contributes to joint professional military education events with the National Defense University and the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies. Wargaming, tabletop exercises, and after-action review training often use the institute’s curated case libraries to train field-grade officers and civilian planners for operational-level analysis.

Facilities and Collections

Situated at Fort Leavenworth’s historic campus near the Frontier Army Museum, the institute houses an archival repository of oral histories, unit histories, operational orders, and after-action reports from campaigns including World War I, World War II, and modern conflicts. Its collections include rare manuscripts, battlefield maps from the Western Front (World War I), and photographic archives documenting campaigns such as the Italian Campaign (World War II). The institute collaborates with the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center, the National Archives and Records Administration, and university libraries to preserve and digitize records for researchers studying campaigns like Operation Overlord and the Korean War. Public symposia and conferences are frequently held on-site with partners including the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the Brookings Institution.

Category:United States Army