DIA analysts Christian S. and Christine K. began attending the one-year master’s program at the National War College in August. After their first semester, they were praised as the top two students in the college’s National Security Council course. They will graduate in May.
The core curriculum, taught at the graduate level, delves into the formulation and implementation of grand strategy, domestic and international influences on national security policy, and the organizations and processes behind both. The NSC elective is one of many that enable students to further explore their own interests and tailor their education experience to their future professional goals.
Chaired by the president of the United States, the NSC is the apex of decision making for national security—the one and often only place where all instruments of national power convene to confront complex national security challenges. The NSC elective is aimed at students who foresee a future assignment working with or on the national security staff in support of the president and the council.
The elective is co-taught by Ambassador Gregory Schulte and Dr. Roger George, who together bring more than 60 years of experience from the intelligence community and national security realm to the classroom. Schulte says, “This elective is designed as the one I wish I had taken before that unexpected phone call from the White House summoning me to my first tour on the NSC staff.”
Christine, a career intelligence officer, spoke of her first semester at the NWC as an experience that has already broadened her perspective of her current job and roused new career ambitions. Christian hopes to have the opportunity to serve at the NSC in the future.
Schulte expanded on his suggestion that Christian and Christine are aligned for successful careers at DIA and, should they choose, the NSC, saying, “A good intelligence analyst needs to understand the type of information and assessments that policymakers need, [and] a good policymaker needs to understand what resources and analysis the intelligence community can bring to bear. Joint professional military education of the type offered at the War College can help future leaders achieve this nexus.”
The National War College, one of five colleges within the National Defense University, trains future military and civilian leaders for high-level policy, command and staff responsibilities, and is one of the many professional development opportunities available to DIA employees.