Baltic Military History Newsletter December 2011

Transcription

1 Baltic Military History Newsletter December 2011 PME Methodology Seminar: the Case Method What now, Lieutenant? Introduction to the Case Method Damien O Connell US Marine Corps University On 9 November 2011 the Professional Military Education Methodology Seminar took place at the Dorpat Conference Centre as an embedded part of the International Society for Military Sciences Conference in Tartu, Estonia. The seminar was interactive and generated animated discussion. Mr. Damien O Connell provided an introduction to the case method with his presentation What now, Lieutenant? Dr. Bruce I. Gudmundsson demonstrated the Road to Habbaniya: A Logistics Case which demonstrated effectively how to develop appreciation of logistical aspects of operational planning. Dr. Paul T. Mitchell provided a discussion on how the Canadian Forces College uses case studies in their National Security Programme notably cases on Hurricane Katrina, Policing in Northern Ireland, and the Decision to Invade North Africa 1943.

2 Participants including Dr. Bruce I. Gudmundsson, Marine Corps University and Brigadier General Michael Clemmesen, Danish Army, Commandant of the Baltic Defence College ( ) On 10 November, Dr. Gudmundsson and Mr. O Connell conducted a mini seminar at the Baltic Defence College for members of Operations and Defence Management and Officership departments who were not able to attend the seminar on the previous day. Working through the case the Road to Habbaniya in particular generated some lively discussion among attendees as it paralleled problems they have faced in actual operations. As case studies are extensively used as learning activities in the Joint Command And General Staff Course, the mini seminar was well appreciated as it helped answer questions on methodology and provided food for thought for future developments in the curriculum. The case method is a subset of the applicatory method of teaching which requires students to devise specific solutions to specific problems of various kinds. While the problems used in the applicatory method may be fictional, all of the problems used in the case method are actual historical problems. DELAYED The Change of Education under Conditions of Globalization: The Army and Society December 2011 Because of unforeseen circumstances the Lithuanian Military Academy regrets to inform that the Conference on the Change of Education under Conditions of Globalization scheduled for December, 2011 will be delayed to a future date. The new date for conference will most likely be in April If you planned to participate please contact rasa.gedminiene@mil.lt; konferencija11@gmail.com for updated information.

3 Nash Quad in 1919 A Nash Quad 5-ton truck in Estonian Army service during the War of Independence. The Quad not only had four-wheel drive and four-wheel brakes and four-wheel steering. Lacplesa Day On November 11 th Latvians commemorate Lacplesa Day, a day of remembrance for War of Independence heroes and the first real military victories for the Baltic peoples. The Cesis Battlefield Association helped to organize commemorations which took place at memorials for Estonians and Latvians fallen during the Battle of Cesis. Commemorations were held at memorials by the Rauna River and at Liepa and Straupe. There was also a church service at Tori Church to remember Latvian and Estonian heroes.

4 Some Thoughts on History, the Case Method and Professional Military Education Dr. Eric A. Sibul Baltic Defence College The main problems we face in the Professional Military Education (PME) are what the best educational methodology and what disciplines students should study. What should be emphasized in order that students will develop to their full potential and be able to successfully fulfil future duties and assignments? In general, students, particularly adults, tend to learn more effectively from experience including vicarious experience. This is why the case method of teaching which is widely used in both military and civilian advanced professional education. Students have an active role in learning rather than being just passive absorbers of knowledge. The case method is historically based and has multiple effects of developing analytical skills and judgment in a professional context as well as expanding students historical knowledge. This historical knowledge can range from the near and contemporary to the ancient. It can enhance knowledge of the contemporary operating environment to having a broader picture of the development of militaries and warfare. Historical study should, of course be, a strong integral part of PME. Every field that warrants higher professional education requires knowledge of its historical foundation. You do not study physics without an awareness of Newton, Faraday, and Einstein nor does one do advanced work in electrical engineering without knowledge of the work of Edison, Sprague and Tesla. Psychologists need to know who Freud and Jung were and what they thought and did. While this seems straight forward, however it has too many times not been fully understood or simply disregarded for selfish interests. That military education is

5 considered well funded is perhaps part of the problem, attracting marginally employable academics with esoteric specializations much like a scene in an American western movie of a cook ringing a dinner triangle calling hungry cowhands for a meal. The spirit has too often seemed glutinous with attempts to pile as much on their academic plates as possible at the expense of other disciplines. Help yourself and your cronies, overall educational ends and the students be dammed. The baneful nature of this situation can probably be better illustrated if taken out of the PME context. We probably do not want to live in a city where the fire chief is an expert on constructivism or game theory as applied to public administration or French postmodernist political philosophy. Rather we would probably want a fire chief who has advanced education that includes a broad array of case studies on response to different types of major fires, disasters and accidents. We would probably want him to have a broad historical picture how fire fighting and rescue work has developed and how it is changing. He should probably know about different government agencies such as the police force and their role in public safety. We would also want to have solid general knowledge of public administration and perhaps some basic human geography and a smattering of other social sciences to help him better understand the community he protects. In sum, someone with education that allows him to deeply understand his profession, the ability to respond all types of emergencies including new and unforeseen ones and develop a comprehensive approach to protecting the community. This is not too different from what organizations like the Baltic Defence College or US Command and General Staff Course at Fort Leavenworth are trying to accomplish in educating general staff officers. Operational planning exercises and case studies on military operations are part of this and students also need historical study to understand the context of military theory and how warfare and militaries have changed and are changing. In addition to this students need to develop knowledge on such topics as international humanitarian law, strategic and international relations theories, international and defence economics, and human geography. Most of these topics are complimentary and strongly interrelated. Modern PME requires a broad and comprehensive approach of which historical study is an integral part. The case method which is historically based can be effectively used to teach strategic and international theory and different facets of economics. The traditional university mode of research oriented academics dispensing knowledge to students through classroom lectures is perhaps the least effective method in this the PME environment, no matter the perceived brilliance of such academic lecturers. The theory behind this approach is that academics can use the time used for preparation of case studies and other applicatory methods for doing new research of which the benefits they can share with students through lecture. In reality, the usual outcome is focus on CV enhancing research and abject neglect for actual education. Furthermore, it has been a long established estimate by educationalists that students retain no better than 30% of the material through a lecture centric approach. The US Army has clearly seen the value in advanced PME of history based programs which primarily use the case method. Reforms

6 in American military education since the late 1980s have spawned School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS) and the Advanced Strategic Art Program which are based specifically on such an approach. My hope is that in the Baltic Countries those charged with overseeing PME for the armed forces will also see the great value of such an approach. Shell Found: A British 4.7inch shell was found at a 1919 Latvian artillery position along the Rauna River. It was turned over to national police From the Times of London The Red Outbreak at Reval: 20 Communists Executed Riga December 2, 1924 Reval and the whole of Esthonia have today outwardly resumed their normal aspect. 1 An official account says about 50 men were killed in the Communist rising yesterday. A court martial was busy last night, and according to official news, condemned 20 men to death and acquitted three. The sentences on the condemned men were carried out during the night. The damaged railway bridges have already been repaired and normal traffic resumed. 1 Reval (Ger.) = Tallinn (Est.), Esthonia modern English spelling Estonia.

7 Documents captured by the Esthonian authorities show that the plan for a rising was made in Russia. Unverified reports state that they hoped the military would not shoot and confidently expected assistance from Soviet Russia. These reports state that daybreak revealed mysterious ships in the vicinity of Reval. These vessels shortly afterwards sailed away, apparently having vainly awaited the signal that insurgents held important positions. Presumably, if the insurgents had gained such positions, the ships intended to land Red reinforcements. In this connection an article in Pravda of November 30 by Kuusinen is not without interest. 2 While explaining Trotsky s mistakes Kuusinen divulges details of plans for a German revolution in Trotsky and Radek arranged the exact date and all details for the German outbreak and then summoned the German Communists to receive explanations and final instructions. 3 About 5,000 Latvians went today in possession to the house of the Esthonian Envoy here, where they made a friendly demonstration, declaring Latvia s willingness to support Esthonia in case of need. The Latvian authorities have assured the public that there is no need for anxiety about a repetition of Esthonian events in Latvian and no extraordinary measures are deemed necessary here. Parliament today accepted the resignations of the Zamuels Ministry. 4 Contribute! If you any thing of interest to Baltic Military Newsletter or have thoughts or ideas, please feel to contribute! Eric.sibul@bdcol.ee 2 Otto Wilhelm Kuusinen Finnish born Soviet official ( ) 3 Trotsky - Lev Davidovich Bronshtein ( ), Radek - Karol Sobelsohn ( ) 4 Government under Prime Minister Voldemārs Zāmuēls (January 1924 to December 1924)