PROFESSIONAL MILITARY EDUCATION IN JOINT MATTERS

SEC. 1123. PROFESSIONAL MILITARY EDUCATION IN JOINT MATTERS (a) Existing Efforts To Improve Professional Military Education.—(1) The Goldwater-Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986 (Public Law 99–433; 100 Stat. 992) mandated— (A) the strengthening of the focus on joint matters in courses of instruction offered by professional military education schools operated by the military departments; and (B) the maintenance of rigorous standards at joint professional military education schools for the education of joint specialty officers. (2) Congress applauds the actions taken since 1986 by the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, consistent with such mandate, to improve professional military education provided by intermediate and senior professional military education schools. (b) Statement of Congressional Policy.—As part of the efforts of the Secretary of Defense to improve professional military education, Congress urges, as a matter of policy, and fully expects the Secretary to establish the following: (1) A coherent and comprehensive framework for the education of officers, including officers nominated for the joint specialty. 103 STAT. 1557 (2) A two-phase approach to strengthening the focus on joint matters, as follows: (A) Phase I instruction consisting of a joint curriculum, in addition to the principal curriculum taught to all officers at service-operated professional military education schools. (B) Phase II instruction consisting of a follow-on, solely joint curriculum taught at the Armed Forces Staff College to officers who are expected to be selected for the joint specialty. The curriculum should emphasize multiple “hands on” exercises and must adequately prepare students to perform effectively from the outset in what will probably be their first exposure to a totally new environment, an assignment to a joint, multiservice organization. Phase II instruction should be structured so that students progress from a basic knowledge of joint matters learned in Phase I to the level of expertise necessary for successful performance in the joint arena. (3) A sequenced approach to joint education in which the norm would require an officer to complete Phase I instruction before proceeding to Phase II instruction. An exception to the normal sequence should be granted by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff only on a case-by-case basis for compelling cause. Officers selected to receive such an exception should be required to demonstrate a basic knowledge of joint matters and other aspects of the Phase I curriculum that qualifies them to meet the minimum requirements established for entry into Phase II instruction without first completing Phase I instruction. The number of officers selected to attend an offering of the principal course of instruction at the Armed Forces Staff College who have not completed Phase I instruction should comprise only a small portion of the total number of officers selected. (c) Duration of Principal Course of Instruction at the Armed Forces Staff College.—(1) Section 663 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: “(e) Duration of Principal Course of Instruction at Armed Forces Staff College.—The duration of the principal course of instruction offered at the Armed Forces Staff College may not be less than three months.”. (2) Subsection (e) of such section, as added by paragraph (1), shall be implemented by the Secretary of Defense not later than two years after the date of the enactment of this Act. (d) Information Regarding Students Attending the Armed Forces Staff College.—Section 667 of such title is amended— (1) by redesignating paragraph (17) as paragraph (18); and (2) by inserting after paragraph (16) the following new paragraph: “(17) With regard to each time the principal course of instruction at the Armed Forces Staff College is offered— “(A) the number of officers selected to attend that course who did not first complete while in residence at a professional military education school operated by a military department the principal course of instruction offered at that school; “(B) the number of those officers as a percentage of all officers who attended that course of instruction at the Armed Forces Staff College; 103 STAT. 1558 “(C) a description of the different reasons why officers were selected to attend that course without first attending the principal course of instruction offered at a professional military education school operated by a military department; and “(D) the number of officers so selected for each such reason.”. (e) Joint Matters Defined.—For purposes of this section, the term “joint matters” has the meaning given to that term in section 668(a) of title 10, United States Code.