The U.S. Naval Academy?s training focus will become more rigorous and technical as future officers prepare for the war on terrorism, the academy?s superintendent said.
“We are a nation at war, and if any campus should understand that, it should be the U.S. Naval Academy,” Vice Adm. Jeffrey Fowler said in his first interview with the media.
Preparing midshipmen for the war on terrorism has been a major focus for Fowler in his first few months at the 4,000-midshipmen academy.
“There is a lot of discussion in the Department of Defense about what should officers 30 years from now have in their instruction?” Fowler said. “Should we all have languages? Should we all have cultural immersion? They may work around the world, but who knows where the next crisis will be?”
Analysts, however, said fitting in the needed technical and academic training may be a daunting task.
“Cultural awareness takes at least a year to teach, and they want to squeeze it into a six-month course. There?s going to be a tradeoff,” said Bernard Finel, a former National War College professor and an analyst at the American Security Project.
Fowler did not give specifics but said focus will include more technical training: “No matter how good a leader you are, you can?t order jets to fly.”
He already has cut liberty leave off the campus during weeknights and instituted mandatory study hall in hopes of better preparing midshipmen.
But morale could be compromised, and the academy leaders must balance being a military school and a college, said Ward Carroll, an alumnus and former professor at the academy.
“The correction is appropriate, but as we develop officers, we have to develop them as young Americans ? and that?s something you can?t do within those walls,” said Carroll, now editor of Military.com.
Fowler acknowledged as much, but also stressed time is fleeting, and changes must be made immediately.
“This is not a need to fix what didn?t go on before,” Fowler said. “This is that you must improve or fall behind. You must continue to develop and keep up with the challenges you?re going to face.”
