A Smart Army

Back when my Civ II class looked at evolution, I read part of the book, Future Shock.  This week, as we discuss Media Theory, we returned to author Alvin Toffler and read a magazine interview article, Alvin Toffler: still shocking after all these years (New Scientist, 19 March 1994, pp. 22-25).  When discussing his 1993 book, War and Anti-War, one of his comments made me smile:  

"The generals we met researching this book, are super, supersmart. They have studied everything from aerospace to computer sciences to international relations. That came as a revelation to us. Never having had much contact with the military, we shared the common stereotypes."

Why, you may ask, did this make me smile?!  

Well, as I mentioned in my first blog post, my sweet husband is in the Army, so I know lots of "Army Guys" - most of them are very smart.  While many enter the Army right out of High School, by the time they get to retirement, many of them have graduate degrees (or several graduate degrees) in a variety of disciplines.  Not only the generals, but men and women from all backgrounds, all ranks, all hopes for their futures.  I know them - and I know they are supersmart!

Our friend, Princeton, a UH-60 pilot serving in Afghanistan

One reason they pursue education may be because of the Army's Educational Benefits, where the Army personnel qualify for grants & scholarships, as well as on the job training that transfers to university credits.

Another reason may be that the "typical" Army Guy retires after only 20 years - about age 40 - plenty of time for a second career!  Very quickly, they realize that job recruiters are looking for higher degrees, so they want to make themselves marketable.

Our friend, Ron, teaching a game to kids

But what if they are not the Classroom type?  Hands-on Learning (Experience) is everywhere.  Between their Army career and cross-training, experiences among the local people at home and the foreign people they work with or against, all create an education that cannot be paralleled in any classroom.


And most of all, soldiers in my husband's field are professionals, who pursue advanced educations in order to gain a greater understanding of the social, political, and economic aspects that allow them to fully understand, not only our own country's motivations, but those of our coalition partners and enemies.  "It's not all about bullets, because after the fighting is done, you have to win the peace."