Reading Tony Corn’s recent paper on Small Wars Journal Peaceful Peaceful Rise Through Unrestricted Warfare: Grand Strategy with Chinese Characteristics I came across this tidbit ‘…there are today more Chinese military officers studying in U.S. universities than American military officers.’ Following Corn’s footnote takes me to the presumable source of this datum, the 2008 Joint Operating Environment (p. 27) where it says:
Above all, the Chinese are interested in the strategic and military thinking of the United States. In the year 2000, the PLA had more students in America’s graduate schools than the U.S. military, giving the Chinese a growing understanding of America and its military.
My point here is not fact-checking Corn’s (although he really ought to give a page reference as well as note that the fact he is noting was true as of 10 years ago–and may still), it’s a good read and I recommend it; rather it is that I have been trying for a while now to figure out some trends in strategic education for a paper I have been working on off and on for a while. Among the things I have been trying to find out about the USA particularly, but also the UK and other NATO allies, are:
How many officers are now studying in civilian graduate schools?
What subjects are they studying?
Full- or part-time?
Residential, distance or on-line?
How have these numbers tracked over time?
Are more studying now than were, for e.g., in 2000 when the JOE remarked that there were more Chinese officers doing so than American ones?
Any information or pointers to sources of same from KOW readers would be gratefully received. Reward equals one beer per footnote redeemable in person from me at the handiest public house.
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi David,
Here is an extract from a piece I wrote on my WiMW course for Theo Farrell which covers this in part:
Since 2003, the PLA has been undertaking a reform programme, the Strategic Project for Talented People, to develop its officers and NCOs. Increased levels of education is demanded of those becoming NCOs, a first for China, as well as reforming the process of accession and promotion for officers, previously prone to corruption. In addition to this scheme, over 1,000 officers are studying for doctorates or master’s degree courses. [Source - Office of the Secretary of Defense Annual Report to Congress Military Power of the People’s Republic of China 2008 http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/pdfs/China_Military_Report_08.pdf, Executive Summary page I, accessed 18th October 2008] This development is augmented by the push to send Chinese students overseas to benefit from western education, with a figure in 2004 of: ’50,000 Chinese… studying in US schools [universities]‘. [Source Hoge, J.F. (2004) 'A Global Power Shift in the Making: Is the United States Ready?', Foreign Affairs, 83:4, pp.2 — 7, actual quote p.7] The true revolution occurring then is one where China seeks to use its most significant asset: its enormous manpower. Education is viewed as the key to developing a PLA which can operate with more technologically refined equipment, rather than on blunt force using human wave tactics; PLA training is designed to be more realistic and at times: ‘compels officers to deviate from the scripted exercise plan’. [Source - Office of the Secretary of Defense Annual Report to Congress Military Power of the People’s Republic of China 2008 http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/pdfs/China_Military_Report_08.pdf, p. 47, accessed 18th October 2008]
Hope that is something…
Mike
I am actually trying to apply to KCL for your war studies program (distance learning). The educational opportunities for in-class instruction just aren’t there in the US Army Aviation branch. Any help you can give me on admissions would be most appreciated ;)
I await my Dogfish.
Hi Starbuck,
I actually had a guy in my cohort on the elearning War in the Modern World Masters (I guess that is the one you are applying for?) who is serving USAF so I know that it has been possible for US service personnel to get on that course in the past. We are in the cohort that has just finished and graduate (dissertation permitting) next month. Have you had any contact with the War Studies department? It is definitely worth the effort and I am so glad that I did it.
Mike
Maybe we’re banned in the Pentagon because they don’t want us pinching all the good students?
I know very little about WiMW, but David knows lots…. Come on in for the big win!
I appreciate that you asked for info on officers. But I saw that Mike mentioned NCO’s as well. I spent a semester studying in the States, and shared a class with 2 US Marines. I can try and get in contact with them for more information, if you wish.
Sam.
It is very possible that an information request to the right govt department (Immigration for foreign or possibly Education for domestic) would be able to shed light on how many officers are studying and trends over time.
To find answers to your questions, I suggest contacting OSD Public Affairs: http://www.defense.gov/faq/questions.aspx
They should be able to locate that information rather easily.
If OSD/PA is unable or unwilling to answer, I suggest finding a KoW contributor that is willing to stick his neck out and approach his Senator or Congressman and ask through them. I would offer to do that but I tread daily on a fine line between congress and OSD so it would not really be a good thing for me to do.
I am working the issue now. Will report back. Wait, out.
Roger that.
David,
I should be able to get you the info on Canadian Forces. Happy to collect the beer after the KCL grad on 20 July.
Anthony Kaduck
Hey, thanks a lot for the help everyone. Gunrrunner, C Jr., am I reading you right that you have forwarded these questions? If so, great. Extra credit for you; if not, I will write in–just want to avoid bombarding OSD with same lot of questions. Anthony, cheers! Starbuck, I run MA War in the Modern World. I’m happy to answer any questions you may have. I think that you will enjoy it. It’s a challenging course but a lot of fun.
Correct as to US DoD–I will keep you apprised. This is basically what I am trying to get:
Data/information on officer personnel attending graduate/professional level civilian educational institutions including but not limited to: numbers by service, rank, MOS, types (level and subject) of degrees, institutions, manner of tracking and utilization afterward etc.
Hi David,
Still an avid KoW reader – particularly a big fan of the addition of the Turing section. In regard to the topic, I’m not sure if there is a DoD level office that tracks it but I do know from a US Air Force perspective the Air University tracks graduate degree progress and completion for officers. They could get you good stats on education levels over the years whether the education was accomplished through an AF funded program or on an individual’s own time/money.
The Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) manages officers assigned by the Air Force to study at civilian institutions so I imagine for they would be good to contact for that particular datum. Their website states that they manage, “ the graduate degree programs of more than 2,400 Air Force members in civilian universities, research centers, hospitals, and industrial organizations to meet the specific educational requirements of the Air Force. Additionally, this program arranges professional continuing education courses for approximately 3,600 Air Force personnel annually.” I realize that’s a little broad and I would question how they added up to 2,400 but perhaps it’s a start.
Their annual reports over the last several years with statistics at the end can be found here:
http://www.afit.edu/en/enr/researchresources.cfm?a=annualreport
Here’s contact info for their Public Affairs office if you need more:
88th Air Base Wing Office of Public Affairs (AFIT)
5215 Thurlow St
Bldg 70, Suite 4B
WPAFB, OH 45433-5543
Tele: 937-522-3252
Fax: 937-522-3500
DSN 672-3252
88abw.pa@wpafb.af.mil
I also happened to attend a Center for New American Security (CNAS) event on this very topic. It was hosted by John Nagl and General Mattis was the discussant. A copy of the report can be downloaded here: http://www.cnas.org/node/4077. It suggested that more officers should attend civilian institutions and more creative ways of allowing this to happen should be developed. In their words:
“In addition to demonstrating a high degree of proficiency in conventional warfare, officers must also develop a broader knowledge of politics, economics, and the use of information in modern warfare to cope with a more complicated and rapidly evolving international environment.”
Hope this is of some assistance.
I do not have any helpful data, but I have a few considerations about comparing the data sets.
In the US, some choose to go into the military after already completing their graduate degrees. Is that true of many Chinese officers? I know a few people who entered the US Army and Marines with graduate degrees, so they’re out there, though I have no idea how many.
The US military also relies heavily upon civilian contractors, many of whom are former Officers with advanced degrees, so this might further complicate the comparison. I did a short stint in a unit near Washington DC where I would see fellow Officers in uniform one day, then a month later I would see them in civilian clothes because they opted to get out of the Army and come back to the same job as a civilian contractor. Being a civilian provided them with greater flexibility to continue their education at night and on weekends, without the complication of having to deploy in the middle of a semester. They were also able to quit their job if a better opportunity arose.
Also, how flexible are the career paths of Chinese officers? I left the Army as a CPT to attend graduate school. It was far more expensive to leave the Army and pay my own way, rather than allow the Army to pay, but I found the Army’s graduate school program to be inflexible and more geared toward obtaining a degree than toward obtaining useful knowledge. I expect my less traditional path to help me become a better officer, but I also expect this break in service to hurt my career progression. Are Chinese officers as willing to make that trade-off? If so, do they have the flexibility to leave the military on a whim and then return later?
From my knowledge (and it is a bit dated) Chinese officers would not have the kind of “free will” in their career decisions like you describe for yourself. Notwithstanding the People’s Republic of China’s “re-branding” in recent years (especially post Tiananmen Square) for marketing purposes, one should remember it is still a totalitarian state, especially with respect to its security apparatus.
Here is a fairly recent discussion of the PLA’s PME (sorry for acronyms) but on Iphone. Starts at p. 131
http://www.rand.org/pubs/conf_proceedings/2005/CF189.pdf
Also this:
http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pdffiles/pub858.pdf