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"To Inspire and Educate Strategists to Serve the Army and the Nation" |
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The Basic Strategic Art Program is an intensive 14-week program designed to educate Army majors who are newly designated Functional Area 59 (strategic plans and policy) in the fundamentals of national strategy. It also introduces the officers to the unique skills, knowledge, and attributes needed as a foundation for their progressive development as Army strategists. The BSAP curriculum is modeled on the Advanced Strategic Art Program. | ||||
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| Mission To provide officers newly designated into Functional Area 59 (Strategic Plans & Policy) an introduction to strategy and to the unique skills, knowledge, and attributes needed as a foundation for their progressive development as Army Strategists. |
| Faculty The BSAP faculty team consists of three full time instructors that serve as educators and mentors along with a civilian technician providing administrative support. A Lieutenant Colonel (FA59) serves as the director of BSAP. He is responsible for the execution of the program and instruction related to national security policy and processes. A civilian instructor (Professor of Military Strategy and Operations) coordinates and supervises the curriculum and is primarily responsible for teaching strategic art and theory. Another civilian instructor (Professor of Military Planning) is responsible for instruction related to institutional and operational planning and systems. BSAP draws upon the entire faculty of the U.S. Army War College to support instruction as well as world class academic and professional guest speakers and lecturers. The BSAP curriculum makes full use of additional academic and professional opportunities available during the resident and non-resident courses at the U.S. Army War College. The BSAP students will sit in seminar with many of the same renowned subject matter experts that lecture for the Advanced Strategic Art Program, the U.S. Army War College resident program and the other Senior Service Colleges. |
Curriculum Strategic Theory: This module provides a foundation in strategic and operational theory. This course of study provides the officer with the theoretical tools to enable him or her to evaluate doctrine and strategy. It begins with a survey of classical strategic theory from Sun Tzu to Clausewitz. Next the course examines modern strategic theory, including modern theories that underpin current service and joint doctrine. The module also looks at the notion of strategic culture and ends with a discussion of current operational theory and the role of theory and doctrine in practice. Strategic Art: In this module students study the practice of the strategic art from the Peloponnesian Wars to the Global War on Terrorism. Students will discuss critical themes, which help explain victory or defeat. Among these themes are: strategy and policy match, theories of victory, net assessment, civil-military relations, pre-war plans and wartime realities, coalition warfare, and war termination. Joint and Army Systems: This module will familiarize students with how the nation raises and maintains the Army. Specifically, students will develop an appreciation for Army resource and force management, readiness, and transformation. National Security and Decision-Making: This module will acquaint students with the nature of decision-making on national security matters in the executive branch of the U.S. Government. This module includes an examination of the national security organization and policy development. It covers the theory and reality of the interagency process and an analysis of the main agencies engaged in national security. The students will look at real world case studies which will illustrate both the formal and informal processes at work. This module will also include a trip to Washington, D.C. to visit the State Department, the NSC, JCS, CIA, and the Army G3. Contemporary Strategic Challenges: This module uses assigned readings, guest lecturers and a program of study to familiarize students with the strategic environment for Northeast Asia, Southwest Asia, Western Hemisphere, and Europe. The course examines U.S. regional interest, objectives, trends, and factors which impact on them. The module concludes with an examination of the homeland security. Joint and Army Planning: This module familiarizes students with the strategic value of landpower and the strategic role of the U.S. Army. Key to this module is the study of campaign planning. Students learn about the structure and employment of Army forces in theater. At the conclusion of this module, students should be able to articulate appropriate Army roles and Army Forces (ARFOR), Joint Forces Land Component (JFLC), and Army theater planning for a given strategy. Staff Rides and Staff Visits: BSAP students participate in two staff rides and one staff visit. The interagency staff ride that concludes the National Security Decision-Making module includes visits to the State Department, National Center for Counter Terrorism, NSC, JSC, OSD, and the Army staff. BSAP concludes with a staff ride of Grant's 1864 Overland Campaign. This staff ride serves as review for the entire course and as a vehicle for additional insights as the students look at the operational, theater strategic, and strategic insights from the Battle of the Wilderness to Appomattox Court House. |
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