Professional Military Education (PME) is broader and more rigorous than is widely understood in the United States. Improving educational programs within the military service branches is at the very center of ongoing force transformation efforts and advanced educational opportunities occur at various, set levels of military experience. Military education increasingly conforms to standards imposed by outside civilian accrediting bodies and is mandated and monitored, to an extent, by Congress. Military Educationexplores this often-overlooked area of education within the context of the modern military force structure.

In this unique work, Watson chronicles the evolution of professional military education during the last sixty years. Careful to draw distinctions between training and education, she briefly traces the history of PME and examines some of the major personalities involved in shaping it, as well as the evolution of the curriculum stressed in PME programs. Her narrative, combined with key documents, a glossary, and a timeline of important events, dispels popular notions of an uneducated military force.