00:00for your testimony and for your service and my experience which has some connection to the
00:06academies is that there are places which build character and also critical thinking. The character
00:12is understanding that you must do the harder right rather than the easier wrong but the critical
00:18thinking is absolutely important because today we're in a multi-dimensional scheme of warfare.
00:24We have accelerating technology. We have contested fly lines. The young graduates are going into a
00:30much more complicated world than I went in with Admiral Davids. Can you talk about the process
00:38that your faculty and dean go through when determining the curriculum for your students?
00:46Thank you, Senator. We have a really robust curriculum. It includes everything that you
00:51might need to make a great officer and having just come from the fleet I can attest to that.
00:55It's got English. It's got government. It's got leadership. It's got STEM heavy to help develop
01:01them and ready them in order to be ready to be these incredible officers out in the fleet on day one, sir.
01:07Thank you. General Gallan, please. Senator Reed, our curriculum which spans across not only the
01:14academic program but also our physical and military program is designed to develop critical
01:21thinkers as I stated in the opening statement to be able to out think and out maneuver our
01:26adversaries. That's built into everything that we do at the United States Military Academy.
01:31Thank you, sir. General Varn and Fiend. Senator Reed, thank you very much. We have a robust course
01:39of instruction that not only includes our academic curriculum but our physical education and our
01:44commissioning education, all designed to meet the three priorities that I laid out in the opening
01:49statement as it moves forward. We have a very dynamic curriculum for all because in our connection
01:54with our Air Force major commands and our Space Force field comms, we are responsive to not only
01:59the requirements of the fielded forces but also the direction we receive from the Secretary of the
02:03Air Force. As an example, to graduate more of our future leaders focused on STEM degrees as the
02:10way of future warfare is going to rely heavily on that STEM education as it moves forward. Through
02:15our integrated curriculum review process as well as great faculty support, we're able to
02:21ebb and flow our curriculum to meet the dynamic requirements of the force.
02:26Sir, can I follow up with another question? Can you tell us a vignette of your own personal
02:33experience that you've tried to infuse into the wing at the Air Force Academy?
02:40So as an example, as we look forward to a curriculum review, we see an opportunity as
02:46looking to the future of our core is a need for understanding that all of our future leaders
02:52must not only be air-minded but they also must be space-minded and cyber-minded to understand how to
02:59deliver and understand the organizations that deliver those effects for the joint warfighting
03:03campaign. And so right now our faculty are looking through our process to how to ensure that all
03:09thousand graduates every year come out with that full appreciation of air, space, and cyber to be
03:15effective as joint operators. Thank you. Admiral David, your comments? Thank you, Senator. I think
03:22it's my enthusiasm for the curriculum and for the trust I've got in the faculty that inspires them
03:27all to do incredible things. And you asked what we do individually to support. And so I think one
03:34of my big focus areas this year has definitely been wargaming. And it's sort of at a nascent
03:38level, but I think we do have one of the largest undergraduate wargaming efforts at one time for
03:43our midshipman fourth class at the end of each year. It's really extraordinary. It's also to support the
03:48midshipman first class as they develop their capstone projects. And this is why it's so exciting
03:53because it's tied completely with the fleet, with our labs, with our research projects that occur
03:58that the midshipmen are incorporated to include in some real-world operational support. And not to
04:03mention, we have some incredible extracurricular activities that we talked about before. And one
04:08that I just used as an example is something we called SWAT-C, but imagine it is a competitive
04:13drone group that goes out and competes against these two here, but also other schools in the
04:19real-world terrain on understanding how you use that technology in the future. It's about really
04:24infusing support to the faculty and staff. Thank you. And General Gulen, you're up. Senator Reed,
04:30our curriculum is under continuous assessment and it evolves to meet the requirements of the
04:35United States Army. From a personal vignette perspective, at West Point we have what's
04:40called MX400, which is the officer capstone course. It's really, it's the superintendent's course.
04:47Our first class or seniors take that course one semester during their senior year. I address
04:54them and specifically the underpinnings of the Constitution of the United States and what it
05:00means to be a commissioned officer in the United States Army. And then the vignettes associated with
05:07experiences that I've had through almost 35 years of service in our Army.
05:12Just let me make two final points. One of the advantages you have now is a very established
05:19and experienced non-commissioned officer corps who are integrated within the cadet companies
05:26and squadrons, et cetera, which is a plus. The second, I have some prejudices among the
05:31academies, but Admiral Davis, I think Navy really began to turn in the right direction when in the
05:371860s you moved to Newport, Rhode Island for a few years. So I think that's the key point
05:42that should be made. Thank you. Thank you, sir.
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