Navy is overhauling education system as US advantages erode

By JENNIFER McDERMOTT
March 2, 2020

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — The U.S. Navy is overhauling its approach to education because the nation no longer has a massive economic and technological edge over potential adversaries, according to a strategy it is releasing Monday.

The Education for Seapower Strategy 2020, provided to The Associated Press ahead of its release, is the first unified, comprehensive education strategy for the Navy and Marine Corps, said John Kroger, who is implementing the strategy as the Navy’s first chief learning officer.

It is very much a response to the nation’s geopolitical position in the world today, versus the advantages it had at the end of the Cold War, Kroger said, noting China’s economic strength and investments in 5G networks, energy storage and other major technologies that matter for war-fighting.

The Navy wants to create a naval community college to provide associate’s degrees to tens of thousands of young sailors and Marines, at no cost to them. It plans to unify the schools within the existing naval university system, similar to a state university system, and invest in them, as well as enact new policies to encourage and reward those who pursue professional military and civilian education.

“In a world where potential adversaries are peers economically and technologically, how do you win?” Kroger said in an interview. “We think we can out-fight potential opponents because we can out-think them. In order to do that, we must have, by far, the best military education program in the world.”

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