School of Advanced Warfighting

School of Advanced Warfighting
U.S. Marine Corps · Public domain · source
Unit name	School of Advanced Warfighting
Dates	1983–present
Country	United States
Branch	United States Army
Garrison	Fort Leavenworth, Kansas
Type	Advanced staff college
Role	Advanced operational art and planning education
Command structure	United States Army Command and General Staff College

Contents

School of Advanced Warfighting is an advanced professional military education program at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, created to develop operational planners and strategic thinkers. It operates within the United States Army Command and General Staff College and interacts with institutions such as United States Army War College, National War College, Marine Corps War College, Air War College, and Joint Forces Staff College. Graduates have served in theaters associated with Gulf War, Iraq War, War in Afghanistan (2001–2021), Kosovo War, and multinational efforts linked to NATO and United Nations missions.

History

The program was established in the early 1980s amid institutional reform influenced by lessons from Vietnam War, the Yom Kippur War, and doctrinal debates such as AirLand Battle and maneuver warfare from proponents like William S. Lind and critics associated with John Boyd. Its creation followed analysis by bodies including the RAND Corporation, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and the Office of the Secretary of Defense that recommended enhanced operational-level education after the Lebanon Hostage Crisis and the Iran–Iraq War. Over time the school adapted curricula reacting to campaigns such as the Operation Desert Storm planning processes and later to expeditionary operations during Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Institutional reforms reflected influences from the Goldwater–Nichols Act and interoperability initiatives tied to U.S. European Command and U.S. Central Command.

The mission emphasizes preparing leaders for operational planning, campaign design, and joint interagency integration, cooperating with entities like Joint Chiefs of Staff, U.S. Special Operations Command, Defense Intelligence Agency, and academic partners at United States Military Academy, Naval War College, and civilian universities including Harvard University and Princeton University. The curriculum covers operational art, campaign design, logistics aligned with Defense Logistics Agency, civil-military relations referencing Department of State engagement, and wargaming tools used by RAND Corporation and Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. Courses incorporate case studies from Battle of Stalingrad, Normandy landings, Tet Offensive, Battle of Midway, First Battle of Fallujah, and Battle of Mosul (2016–2017), and employ simulation systems such as those developed by DARPA, Lockheed Martin, and Boeing. Pedagogy integrates methods from theorists like Clausewitz, Sun Tzu, B. H. Liddell Hart, and practitioners such as Colin Powell and H. R. McMaster.

Students are typically mid-career officers nominated by major commands such as U.S. Army Forces Command, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, III Corps (United States), and multinational partners from Canadian Armed Forces, British Army, Australian Army, and NATO member forces. Selection processes coordinate with promotion boards including those influenced by policies from Department of the Army and guidance from Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Admission criteria emphasize prior command experience, professional military education credentials from Captains Career Course and Basic Officer Leader Course, and potential for assignments to joint staffs including Combined Joint Task Force headquarters. Competitive selection mirrors practices at Eisenhower School and School of Advanced Military Studies.

The program is organized into faculty cells and teaching teams drawing instructors from United States Army Training and Doctrine Command, former planners from CENTCOM, EUCOM, and retired officers who served in units like 1st Infantry Division (United States), 82nd Airborne Division, and 101st Airborne Division (United States). Guest lecturers have included scholars from Johns Hopkins University, Columbia University, and practitioners from Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and think tanks such as Heritage Foundation and Brookings Institution. Faculty research interfaces with publications like Joint Force Quarterly and journals from Strategic Studies Institute, and collaborates with centers such as Combined Arms Center and Institute for Defense Analyses.

Alumni have progressed to senior positions within United States European Command, United States Central Command, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, the Pentagon, and diplomatic assignments at United States Mission to the United Nations. Graduates have been credited with shaping campaign plans during Operation Iraqi Freedom, advising reconstruction efforts during Marshall Plan-style nation-building debates, and contributing to doctrine revisions in Field Manual 3-0 (Operations). Notable alumni have gone on to serve in roles connected to leaders like David Petraeus, Stanley McChrystal, Martin Dempsey, and Raymond T. Odierno, influencing coalition operations with partners such as United Kingdom Ministry of Defence, Canadian Department of National Defence, and Australian Department of Defence.

Located at Fort Leavenworth near Kansas City, Missouri and adjacent to the historic Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery, facilities include advanced seminar rooms, simulation centers interoperable with systems from Lockheed Martin and Raytheon Technologies, and a document library with holdings from U.S. Army Center of Military History, the Library of Congress, and collections related to campaigns like Operation Torch and Operation Overlord. Training resources feature battle staff exercises, distributed virtual training networks linked to Joint Training System, and live-virtual-constructive environments supported by vendors such as CAE Inc. and Serco Group. The proximity to the Combined Arms Center and interaction with Fort Leavenworth Historical Museum provide historical and doctrinal context for instruction.

Category:United States Army education and training