ALONG THE POTOMAC, AN EXCLUSIVE SCHOOL FOR WAR

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP73-00475R000400070001-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 27, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 6, 2014
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: August 22, 1965
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

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Declassified. in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release @ 50-Yr 2014/01/06 CIA-RDP73-00475R000400070001-6
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By RAY
WASHINGTON
One of the most exclusive schools in
the world is tucked against a broad,
curve in the Potomac, only minutes
from the Capitol.
The setting is the Army's famous
Fort McNair, home of the "Old
Guard.? The broad parade ground, an
abbreviated golf course and a busy
swimming pool add a campus touch.
But this isn't an ordinary school.
Its subject is war ? how to avoid it,
if pcissiblekliow to win if it becomes
inevitablr
Fort McNair is the home of the
National War College. Each September
since 1946 approximately. 135 men of
promise in the military and govern- .
ment report here. For a year they
study America's position in the com-
plex postwar world.
Vice Adm. Fitzhugh Lee, command,.
ant, outlines two major objectives:
"Greater understanding between the
civilian and military- components Of
government and greater understanding
among the military services."
Each class is selected equally' from
four sources ? Army, Air Force, Na-
vy-Marine Corps and the executive
branch of government. The military
men are largely career officers with
15-20 years experience. They usually ,?
fall in the 38-42 age bracket and most
have reached the rank of lieutenant
colonel or commander.
The civilians generally fit into the
same age and experience range, al-
though there have been exceptions.
This year's class included men from
the Central Intelligence Agency, the
Defense Intelligence Agency and the
State, Defense, Treasury and Com-
merce departments.
All members of the present Joint
Chiefs of Staff, and all deputies, with ?
. the exception of Air Force chief Gen.
1 John P. McConnell are graduates of
the college. McConnell had reached
general rank before the school went
into operation.
Adm. Lee, a descendent of one of the
nation's proudest families with roots in
the Revolutionary War and the Civil
, War, became commandant in 1961,, He
MerILIGH: Chief, Washington Bureau, Copley News Service
was a student here in 1949-50. His
deputies are Ambassador Samuel Ber-
ger, former env,rv to South Korea, and.
Army Maj. Ger.. `Llidney Wooten.
The faculty and staff totals 45, one
for every three students.
The library, Lee pointed out during a
tour of the college, is perhaps the
world's finest collection of works on
modern, military and international af-
fairs. A large section of the library is
marked "classified." Its books and
papers are stored in huge vaults.
The faculty is a mixture of civilian
and military instructors.
The civilians are top-flight profes-
sors from American universities. They
usually serve for 12 months at the ,
National War College, either on loan or
on sabbatical years.
They are divided into four categori-
es: national strategy, military affairs,
political affairs and educational de-
velopment.
The faculty's work is augmented by
a steady stream of guest lecturers who
reflect the broadest spectrum Of politi-
cal philosophy and experience.
President Johnson and Vice Pres-
ident Humphrey addressed the 1964-65
class. Presidential adviser McGeorge
Bundy and Chicago University Prof. :
Hans Morganthau, opponents in the.
recent TV "teach-in" on, Viet Nam, ;
addressed the group. '.
The class has also heard from scores
of senators, congressMen, cabinet offi-
cers, college professots, diplomats and
military experts.
"Many of the speakers we invite are:
chosen deliberately because of their
controversial views,": said Adm. Lee.
"We want our studerits to appreciate
the broadest :range of argument."
And to insure free ecchange with the
speakers, all such appearances are '
"off the record." The speakers are
never quoted. Their i?emarks are not
published.
The National War College was found-
ed on the recommendations of Pres-
ident Eisenhower and Gen. -Lyman
Lemnitzer, now supreme Allied com-
mander, Europe.
ilk
In handling Allied staffs in Britain
and in the Mediterranean, Eisenhower
and Lemnitzer found that British offi-
cers were frequently better equipped
to inject diplomatic- and political ele-
ments into military decisions. They
traCed this ability to training at Lon-
don's Imperial War College. When
World War II ended, the two American
generals immediately recommended a
similar American institution.
The curriculum of the college indi-
cates the intensive training that its
students undergo. After introductory
review of the world situation, they
study: ?
Factors of national power; formula-
tion of national security policy; strate-
gy and warfare; the Communist
states; -free Europe and the Western
Hemisphere; Africa and free Asia; ?
overseas studies; and counterinsurgen-
cy.
The last subject underlines the
growing concern with the problems of
"wars of national liberation."
The overseas studies section sees
each class broken into units. Each unit
visits a different part of the world for
a firsthand view of problems confron-
ting the United States.
Gen. Wooten took' one such group to
Moscow last year. For three days the
group was a guest of the Red Army
and heard presentations by military
men and some Soviet agency chiefs.
"They even took us to the Red tank
school for captains and sub-majors,"
Wooten recalled. "You should have
seen the students jump when we
walked into the classroom. They had
been studying tank tactics and all of a
sudden there was the 'enemy,' right in
the same room."
Russia refused to accept a visit by a
similar this year. It said the time was
"not propitious."
The Soviets have been invited to
send similar groups to Washington but
after a long period of hesitation they
declined.
The National War College is not to
be confused with the separate Army,
Navy and Air Force war colleges that
?- - - - - concern themselves primarily with ;
im,,,I,ccifical in Part - Sanitized CODV Approved for Release @ 50-Yr 2014/01/06 CIA-RDP73-00475R000400070001-6
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Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release @ 50-Yr 2014/01/06: CIA-RDP73-00475R000400070001-6
tactical and strategic problems con-
fronting their particular service.
The installation at fort McNair also ;
includes the Industrial College of the
Armed Forces. Courses are conduct-
ed here for military men and rep-
resentatives ? of industry on such prob-
lems as design, research, manufac-
ture, supply ? and logistics. The i
programs emphasize military-industry ,
coordination in time of war. The i
school also sponsors seminars through-
out the United States for reserve offi-
cers and businessmen. .
Fork Mcil1/41.2ir is ?also the scene of a
summer seminar for reserve officers.
One now in progress presents a con-
densed version of the National War .
College courses.
"In all these classes," Adm. Lee
said, "we have top talent. The fer-
ment of ideas in such groups of men is
perhaps our best educational tool."
"This is no center for military domi-
nation or centralization," emphasized
another officer. "It's just the opposite.
It trains men to appreciate the intrica-
cies of the world and to better con-
tribute to an understanding of, interna-
tional problems."
Lee's role as commandant em-
phasizes the college's inter-service un.
derstancling. The tall, graying admiral
lOoks right at home as he walks
tIi rough the fortress-like old brie]:
archways of his headquarters, a build
ing raised in 1903 as the Army \Vat.
College and dedicated to Eliltu Root.
who as secretary of war, formalizec -
the practices and operations of the
Army's general staff.
_
US 2 a '225
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release @ 50-Yr 2014/01/06: CIA-RDP73-00475R000400070001-6