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Between late September and early October, the School of Advanced Military Studies conducted off-site activities to give students first-hand experience visualizing operational art.
Class 2012-01 first went to Vicksburg, Miss., to study Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s campaign to capture the city. Located high atop the bluffs on the eastern side of the Mississippi River, the city of Vicksburg provided Gen. John Pemberton’s Confederate forces with the perfect bastion to control river traffic.
During the five-day staff ride, SAMS students visited 24 locations, or “stands,” critical to comprehending the campaign. At each stand, instructors used maps to orient the students to the terrain. Following that, they facilitated discussion about the events that occurred at the location.
Before the trip, each student researched the actions taken by a specific leader during the campaign. The students collectively described the campaign from the views of their respective “roles” as either a Union or Confederate officer.
While the Vicksburg National Military Park provided the perfect backdrop for studying a joint campaign, a great amount of learning occurred when the students returned from the field each evening. SAMS’ seminar leaders and faculty led integration sessions. During integration, students reflected on how the forces engaged in the Vicksburg campaign used operational art to arrange tactical capabilities in time, space and purpose to achieve strategic objectives. Integration sessions allowed the students to use this historic campaign as a framework to comprehend the modern principles associated with operational art.
After returning from their staff ride, the SAMS students also evaluated the First World War Meuse-Argonne Offensive during a visit to the Liberty Memorial in Kansas City, Mo. Similar to the integration sessions during the staff ride, students drew out the campaign plans for the American and German leaders by describing them with the modern elements of operational art.
Following class, the SAMS students and faculty toured the National World War I Museum. SAMS Class 2012-01 also donated funds to the purchase of a brick for the Walk of Honor at the entrance of the Liberty Memorial.
The SAMS students and faculty are grateful for assistance the provided by the Combat Studies Institute, the Liberty Memorial, and private citizens in making these events a successful learning experience. Special thanks go to Sid Champion, who took the time to meet the staff ride participants and provide them a detailed account of the fighting that took place on his property.
Between late September and early October, the School of Advanced Military Studies conducted off-site activities to give students first-hand experience visualizing operational art.
Class 2012-01 first went to Vicksburg, Miss., to study Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s campaign to capture the city. Located high atop the bluffs on the eastern side of the Mississippi River, the city of Vicksburg provided Gen. John Pemberton’s Confederate forces with the perfect bastion to control river traffic.
During the five-day staff ride, SAMS students visited 24 locations, or “stands,” critical to comprehending the campaign. At each stand, instructors used maps to orient the students to the terrain. Following that, they facilitated discussion about the events that occurred at the location.
Before the trip, each student researched the actions taken by a specific leader during the campaign. The students collectively described the campaign from the views of their respective “roles” as either a Union or Confederate officer.
While the Vicksburg National Military Park provided the perfect backdrop for studying a joint campaign, a great amount of learning occurred when the students returned from the field each evening. SAMS’ seminar leaders and faculty led integration sessions. During integration, students reflected on how the forces engaged in the Vicksburg campaign used operational art to arrange tactical capabilities in time, space and purpose to achieve strategic objectives. Integration sessions allowed the students to use this historic campaign as a framework to comprehend the modern principles associated with operational art.
After returning from their staff ride, the SAMS students also evaluated the First World War Meuse-Argonne Offensive during a visit to the Liberty Memorial in Kansas City, Mo. Similar to the integration sessions during the staff ride, students drew out the campaign plans for the American and German leaders by describing them with the modern elements of operational art.
Following class, the SAMS students and faculty toured the National World War I Museum. SAMS Class 2012-01 also donated funds to the purchase of a brick for the Walk of Honor at the entrance of the Liberty Memorial.
The SAMS students and faculty are grateful for assistance the provided by the Combat Studies Institute, the Liberty Memorial, and private citizens in making these events a successful learning experience. Special thanks go to Sid Champion, who took the time to meet the staff ride participants and provide them a detailed account of the fighting that took place on his property.
