Fort Benning, Ga - The military staff ride is a tradition that began in Germany during the late 19th century at specific Napoleonic battle sites. German general staff officers studied the failures and successes of combat to be applied as future leaders. The tradition continues for students of The Command General and Staff Officers Course (CGSOC) at the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC). Sixty-two students and five faculty members conducted a staff ride to the Chickamauga National Battlefield Park. The Battle at Chickamauga was the second bloodiest battle of the American Civil War resulting in approximately thirty-four thousand casualties.
This annual event took place on September 19-20, 2019 which correlated with the actual days of the battle in 1863 and was held on the battlefield that today remains essentially unchanged. This visual experience at Chickamauga offered students an excellent opportunity to study large and small-scale maneuvers. They used this historical battle to analyze, explain, and comprehend contemporary conflicts.
Prior to the visit students were tasked with research on the overall battle. It was conducted at the WHINSEC campus, and provided the preliminary study in preparation for the visit to the battlefield the following week. On the visit to Chickamauga there were group presentations at different sites on
the battlefield. These presentations challenged students to identify critical issues and problems commanders faced during this battle. Their ideas directly tied into the learning objectives that
assimilated themes of military leadership at the tactical, operational and strategic level.
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