Military Review English Edition July-August 2015 | Page 32

exported to the Army’s twenty-two
proponents when and where it is
needed. In the current process, a
proponent can, at times, take several
years to develop and implement a
curriculum it is responsible for—and
that curriculum often is not shared
throughout the entire Army. The
Army University will be the vehicle
that can swiftly push and pull curriculum Army-wide, with the ability
to adapt to emerging threats when
soldiers need the information quickly.
(U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. John R. Nimmo Sr.)

Spc. Anthony Fountain, with the Naval Ophthalmic Support and Training Activity in Yorktown, Virginia, uses a manual lensometer 5 March 2008 at Coast Guard Integrated Support
Command Kodiak, Alaska. Fountain is helping to create four hundred pairs of free eyeglasses
for patients during Operation Arctic Care 2008, an annual joint-service training event that
provides medical, dental, optometry, veterinary, and mechanical services.

over its enemies. As we move toward the “Force 2025
and Beyond” strategy, it is obvious we must invest more
in our soldiers; we must tap into their potential to become more agile, more adaptive, and more innovative
than our adversaries.1

NCO 2020 Initiative
The NCO 2020 initiative is a five-year project
involving a survey of more than four hundred thousand
soldiers regarding the Army noncommissioned officer
(NCO) education system.2 The survey identified several performance gaps in NCO education. Two of those
gaps are that institutional learning often comes later
than needed and that systems need to be more adaptable. Perhaps The Army University’s biggest challenge
will be to become an agile and adaptive institution.
In order to accomplish this requirement, The Army
University will need to synchronize the learning objectives of all four cohorts in the Army: commissioned
officers, warrant officers, enlisted soldiers, and Army
civilians. Currently, these processes are performed by
the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command and
the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center. Synchronizing
these learning objectives will ensure soldiers are trained
and educated at the appropriate times in their careers.
Another function of The Army University will be
to develop and review the professional military education
curriculum to ensure it is standardized and can be quickly
30

Education and
Credentialing

The Army University will not look
like any other university in the United
States. As a whole, it will leverage
eighty-six institutions, with more than 150,000 enrolled
students, and it will partner with other universities to
provide more opportunities for soldiers through degree
participation programs and the credentialing of soldier
skills. Several Army proponent schools have relationships
with nearby academic institutions close to their campuses.
Under The Army University, they will be able to expand
these relationships throughout the country to provide
more flexibility to soldiers as they pursue higher education
and degree completion.
Credentialing is a term used to identify personnel who
have established their qualifications as licensed professionals. Currently, there are more than five thousand organizations that credential people in disciplines ranging from
emergency medical technician to carpenter. Most of these
credentialing organizations can legally certify soldiers in a
state or a region in their specialties. The Army University
will partner with these organizations to align them universally and to help soldiers who graduate from a military
technical school acquire the recognition for their skills—as
they deserve—through licensing.

Army Policy
Affecting policy can be one of the most daunting tasks
in the Army. Generally speaking, changes are frequently
conveyed through forums and meetings. In addition to
providing a clearer link to decision makers through the
forums and meetings, The Army University will have the
July-August 2015  MILITARY REVIEW