Of Responsible Command; A History of the U.S. Army War College

Carlisle Barracks, PA: The Alumni Association of the United States Army War College, 1994. Revised Edition. Presumed first printing thus. Hardcover. Very good/Very good. xii, 538, [2] pages. Illustrations. Chapter notes. Chronology. Notes on sources. Index. DJ has slight wear and soiling. The author was a former member of the faculty of the United States Army War College and a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point. He was a combat infantry officer. He was a graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and earned his Ph.D. in history from the University of Virginia. Col. Harry P. Ball (1925-2017) attended New Mexico Military Institute and The United States Military Academy graduating in the Class of 1947. He served in many posts and stations to include two Airborne Divisions, three tours in Korea, Vietnam and Germany. In January 1952, Harry arrived in Korea and was assigned as Company Commander, Co. C, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. For the next six months, Harry's unit helped man the Main Line of Resistance (MLR), an official campaign known as "Second Korean Winter." It was during this period of active ground combat that 1st Lt. Ball was promoted to Captain and awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge. Harry's final tour of duty was with the Army War College at Carlisle Barracks, PA, where he served on the faculty for three years. During his third year at Carlisle, Harry was head of the Department of Military Strategy, Planning, and Operations. On 31 July 1977, he retired from the Army after thirty years of active service. He was commissioned by the Army War College in Carlisle, PA to write a history of the institution which was published in 1984 under the title of "Of Responsible Command". The United States Army War College (USAWC) is a U.S. Army educational institution in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, on the 500-acre campus of the historic Carlisle Barracks. It provides graduate-level instruction to senior military officers and civilians to prepare them for senior leadership assignments and responsibilities. Each year, a number of Army colonels and lieutenant colonels are considered by a board for admission. Approximately 800 students attend at any one time, half in a two-year-long distance learning program, and the other half in an on-campus, full-time resident program lasting ten months. Upon completion, the college grants its graduates a master's degree in Strategic Studies. Army applicants must have already completed the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, the required Professional Military Education for officers in the rank of major. While the Army handpicks most of the students who participate in the residential program, the student body always includes officers from the other military branches, civilians from agencies such as the Department of Defense, State Department, and National Security Agency, and officers from foreign countries who attend the program as International Fellows. For example, the residential Class of 2017 had 381 students: 218 active component officers and 61 reserve component officers from all five branches of the United States Armed Forces, 28 senior federal government civilians, and 74 International Fellows. Majors with the specialty of Function Area 59, Strategist, formerly Strategic Plans and Policy, also attend their qualification course, the Basic Strategic Arts Program (BSAP), at the college. The Army War College is a split-functional institution. While a great deal of emphasis is placed on research, students are also instructed in leadership, strategy, and joint-service/international operations. It is one of the senior service colleges including the Naval War College and the Air War College. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Defense operates the National War College. According to U.S. Army regulation 10-44, the mission of the War College is "To prepare selected military, civilian, and international leaders for the responsibilities of strategic leadership; educate current and future leaders on the development and employment of landpower in a joint, multinational and interagency environment; conduct research and publish on national security and military strategy; and engage in activities in support of the Army's strategic communication efforts." Established from the principles learned in the Spanish-American War, the College was founded by Secretary of War, Elihu Root, and formally established by General Order 155 on 27 November 1901. Washington Barracks—now called Fort Lesley J. McNair—in Washington, D.C. was chosen as the site. Theodore Roosevelt attended the Masonic laying of the cornerstone of Roosevelt Hall on 21 February 1903. The first president of the Army War College was Major General Samuel B. M. Young[5] in July 1902 and the first students attended the College in 1904. During the presidency of Montgomery M. Macomb in 1916, President Woodrow Wilson accused students and staff of planning for taking part in an offensive war, even though the United States had not entered World War I. Wilson was unconvinced by Macomb's explanation that the college was concerned only with the intellectual growth and professional development of its students, and insisted that the school curtail its activities in order to ensure that the U.S. maintained its neutrality. The College remained at Washington Barracks until the 1940s, when it was closed due to World War II. It reopened in 1950 at Fort Leavenworth, and moved one year later to its present location.