Fort Benning, Ga (Aug 7-8, 2017)-- The forty-nine students of the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC) who went on a Staff Ride to the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park in early August learned a lot more than the details of a Civil War battle fought there more than 150 years ago.
The students studied operational leadership during the United States Civil War to refine their own leadership capabilities, aiding their professional judgment and understanding of combat operations. They used the historical analogies found during the battle at Chickamauga to analyze, explain, and comprehend contemporary events and relate them to future issues during military operations.
The Staff Ride also functioned as a team-building exercise, bringing the members of the Institute's Command & General Staff Officer Course (CGSOC) Class of 2018 class closer together. (Twelve countries have field grade officers in the class: Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Peru, Paraguay, Panama and the U.S.)
Peruvian Navy Capt. Miguel Barrios, an instructor at WHINSEC, steered students through their learning objectives with U.S. Army Infantry Branch Historian David S. Stieghan and Chickamauga Park Ranger James Ogden adding expertise and knowledge of the battle at areas of strategic importance.
This staff ride caused Ranger Ogden to consider a broader meaning for his park, saying "working with you all (WHINSEC) has also caused me to think more extensively about interpreting the United States Civil War more broadly, most specifically internationally. I still have A LOT to learn in this regard, particularly to then be able to relate it to others, but working with you all (WHINSEC) has made me aware that, as important as the Civil War is to United States History, that we usually have forgotten it's much broader context relative to the rise of representative governments." (August 10, 2017, email from Mr. Ogden to the WHINSEC commandant).
NOTE: The CGSOC is designed to educate intermediate level Army, sister-service, interagency, and partner-nation officers to be prepared to operate in complex Army, joint, interagency, and multinational environments as field grade commanders and staff officers. Student body includes Army, Air Force, Marine, and Navy officers from the U.S. Students may complete their masters' degrees through any civilian university, or complete a Master of Military Art and Science (MMAS) from CGSC concurrently in Spanish or English while attending at WHINSEC. Provides Military Education Level 4 and Joint Professional Military Education 1 certification for U.S. officers.
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