When I found out that I was selected to attend resident Intermediate Level Education (ILE) at Fort Leavenworth, I immediately realized how little I knew about the course. My research brought up numerous articles from officers discussing their year at Fort Leavenworth. These articles are what I found most useful and are the reason that I decided to write my own. Hopefully, my experience and advice serve two purposes. The first is to assist future classes in understanding the course of instruction and aid in your preparation for the “Best Year of Your Life.” Second, this article will be my attempt to, as General Funk says, “Leave the jersey in a better place than I found it.”

U.S. Army Command and General Staff College 101

Our academic year consisted of three phases: Common Core, the Advanced Operations Course (AOC), and two terms of electives. Classes during all three phases are taught almost entirely by instructors from the Departments of Tactics (DTAC), History, Command and Leadership, Logistics and Resource Operations (DLRO), and Joint, Interagency and Multinational Operations (DJIMO). In general, we attended class between four to eight hours, Monday through Friday, at the Lewis and Clark Center in our assigned staff group (SG) classroom. Each staff group consists of approximately 16 students from the U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard, interagency (CIA, USAID, State Department, etc.) and partner nation armed forces.

Each staff group had three faculty members consisting of a mix of active-duty officers and civilian instructors. Instruction during Common Core and AOC was almost entirely at the staff group level with a few exceptions for classes that are taught by subject matter experts.

Our class started in early August with Common Core lasting until the Thanksgiving break. Common Core culminated with the X100 exam, which is a comprehensive test of everything covered in Common Core. It is a two-part assessment that starts with a multiple-choice test and ends with an oral board. During the oral board, which lasts about an hour, students answered questions from 3 faculty members from outside their section.

AOC consisted of a mix of classes and planning exercises. Planning exercises consisted of one or two staff groups acting as a brigade, division, or higher-level staff. During some of the planning exercises, students worked as the staff for both friendly and enemy forces. Planning exercises lasted between two to five days with a mix of four and eight hour days. Following AOC, we transitioned to electives.

Electives were two, four-week terms, with students taking course loads based on what their branch, functional area, or service required. In addition, students could take course that lined up with their personal and professional interests. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our elective requirements and terms were adjusted and taught exclusively online.

Throughout Common Core, AOC, and electives, we were evaluated through multiple-choice tests, presentations, research papers, argumentative essays, class participation, forum discussions, group projects, planning products, field grade officer competency reports, and briefings of all kinds.

Following electives, the last couple of weeks consisted of out-processing, PCS preparation, and a graduation ceremony, all heavily modified because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Advice for Future Classes

Prepare Now

One of the main reasons that I had a positive experience is because I had a good idea of what to expect before attending. Research, discussions with previous graduates, expectation management, and having a “Whole-Of-Family” approach to resident ILE before I arrived set me up to have a rewarding year. Read and understand the doctrine referenced during the pre-courses and tests that you will complete before arrival. A thorough understanding of this doctrine will make Common Core much easier.

Make Your Staff Group Great

Second, only to your own attitude, your staff group is the biggest factor in determining whether your CGSC experience is positive or negative. You can’t do anything to influence what staff group you are in, but you can play a huge role in its success or failure. I was lucky to be placed in a fantastic staff group that worked well together from day one. Your staff group may take more work. Put in that work, and it will pay dividends throughout the year.

Set Goals

Decide what you want to get out of the academic year before you arrive. You can earn a master’s degree, compete for student awards, improve yourself physically, prioritize your studies, or some combination of all these. Having an endstate to work towards will help maintain focus on the areas that are most important to you.

Learn (or Remember) How to Learn

If you have not been in an academic environment for a long time, you’ll need to dust off and improve your study habits from college. There is a lot of reading, writing, and information to digest at CGSC. Writing is one area where you may struggle if you don’t put in the time to improve. Thankfully CGSC has a great learning resource center to improve study habits, time management, speed reading, and writing.

Knowledge Management

Have a system to manage information in both digital and analog formats before you arrive. Your ability to rapidly find information from multiple disparate sources while taking exams will significantly affect your grades. If you are the type of person with thousands of emails in your inbox and a computer monitor filled with icons, you need to figure out a knowledge management system that works before you start classes.

Technology

If you do not have a good laptop or tablet, I recommend getting one. Wi-Fi is available in all the classrooms and the library at Fort Leavenworth. Having a laptop or tablet in class makes life a lot easier. At home, having multiple monitors helps when writing and taking exams. The COVID-19 pandemic will, most likely, change or interrupt in-class instruction during the 2021 academic year. Having a good home office will help minimize these interruptions. I also recommend purchasing the premium versions of Grammarly, Zotero, and Quizlet. Grammarly is a great proofreading program, Zotero makes writing research papers easier, and Quizlet will help when studying for the X100 exam.

Be Flexible

At the time of this writing, it is unclear how COVID-19 will affect the class of 2021. Regardless of how this class is conducted the biggest challenge will be in integrating and developing a staff group when not everyone is at Fort Leavenworth for the entire time. Because of the large role it plays in your CGSC experience, I recommend prioritizing staff group integration and development as early as possible. As mentioned earlier, your staff group is really, really, important.

Final Thoughts

Every officer that attends resident ILE at Fort Leavenworth will have a unique experience; uniquely good, bad, or average. Take the classwork seriously and put in the time needed to accomplish your goals. CGSC was not “The best year of my life,” but it was a great one.

MAJ Philip Henke is currently attending AMSP at SAMS. MAJ Henke is a Cyber and Electronic Warfare Officer who began his commissioned service in the Infantry. MAJ Henke served 5 years on active duty as a Cannon Crewmember where he achieved the rank of Staff Sergeant before attending Kansas State University and OCS. MAJ Henke most recently served as the Cyber and Electronic Warfare Operations Officer for the 7^th Special Forces Group. He can be reached on DOD webmail and on Twitter @PhilipHenke