Building Democratic Military Professionalism in Professional Military Education

This panel explores the theory and practice of imbuing democratic military professionalism within pre-commissioning and graduate level military education programs in the United States. Several papers explore the evolution of a peer-led student program, the Academy Oath Project (AOP), created in the wake of the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. AOP provides experiential learning opportunities aimed at fostering greater understanding of and commitment to the Oath of Office that all military officers take at the point of their commissioning. In addition, the panel will contrast these undergraduate efforts with the democratic civil-military relations educational programs in the intermediate and senior level courses at the U.S. Naval War College where mid-level and senior level officers receive master’s degrees and Joint Professional Military Education certification in defense and strategic studies.