In the summer of 2024, West Point’s Department of Military Instruction (DMI) launched a series of training programs to enhance cadet education. DMI introduced six new Military Individual Advanced Development (MIAD) opportunities and two Academic Individual Advanced Development (AIAD) experiences, broadening the scope of cadet training beyond traditional air assault and airborne courses.
At the NATO Mountain Warfare Center of Excellence in Slovenia (as well as in Italy and Georgia), cadets powered through extreme weather, high altitude, and steep inclines to master tactical tasks in challenging mountainous terrain with international partners. In Hawaii, cadets attended the Jungle Operations Training Course, learning about mobility, camouflage techniques, tracking, and jungle medicine and participating in practical exercises that taught them how to fight, win, and survive within any jungle environment. At Fort Moore, Georgia, cadets mastered the fundamentals of dismounted reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition at the 26-day Reconnaissance and Surveillance Leader Course, training on mission-essential equipment and land navigation and progressing to a culminating field training exercise during which they conducted detailed mission planning, airborne insertion, and intelligence reporting.
DMI’s Defense and Strategic Studies program also partnered with INDOPACOM to create two new AIAD experiences. In the first, cadets were embedded in the INDOPACOM Commander’s Action Group and engaged with senior leaders, including USMC Major General Jay M. Bargeron and Commodore Jonathan Lett from the Royal Navy, to explore key aspects of military operations such as logistics, access, basing, and deterrence against emerging threats. In the other AIAD, cadets were paired with the 5th Security Force Assistance Brigade (SFAB) and traveled to the INDOPACOM HQ at Fort Shafter, Hawaii to study USARPAC’s theater strategy at the Pacific Pathways Planning and Coordination Conference and then joined the 5th Battalion, 5th SFAB in Manila, Philippines to observe how tactical level activities support operational and strategic goals.
DMI’s expansion of training opportunities represents a significant evolution in military education. By incorporating specialized courses and strategic insights, West Point is preparing cadets to face the complexities of modern military challenges, and the future of military education at West Point promises to align closely with evolving national security requirements.
Photo: Cadets on an AIAD with the 5th Security Force Assistance Brigade were able to attend the Pacific Pathways Planning and Coordination Conference at Fort Shafter, Hawaii.
What do you think? Click here to answer three questions.
