I would like to commend MG Grinalds for his article expressing the values of higher education.  We need to pay more money now or pay a bigger price in the future.  I recently finished a career as a military officer to attend Law School.  When I came to USC Law School, I was amazed that the bathrooms in such an elite institution were in need or repair due to lack of funding.  At the same time, my tuition was raised over 15%.  Now I hear that my Alma Mater, The Citadel, is cutting out two varsity sports, putting faculty on furlough, and raising tuition over 10%.  These are signs that higher education is being used to help make up for the budget shortfall, risking the future of our state and country.  Let me explain.

In my last two years on active duty, I taught Army Infantry Captains how to command companies and perform staff functions.  In that job, I saw first-hand the payoff of professional and civilian education within the military.  Many of the students I taught were in involved with various operations in the War on Terror.  The lessons I will share about higher education in the military are directly applicable to the future leaders of the state.

One of the most important reasons for success of the military in the recent operations is the Officer professional education system.  It was not the equipment, but the educated officers and Non-commissioned officers that make our military so successful.  Military officers spent up to a third of their career in professional and civilian education.  They start with undergraduate civilian degrees, and attain a master’s degrees by the time they are Lieutenant Colonels.  Professional military education also takes place throughout an officer’s career.  Officers spent their first year in basic officer schools.  At the four-year point in their career, officers spend seven months in a career course.  This is what I taught.  When officers reach the rank of Major, many spend a year in Command and General Staff School.  Five to six years later, those leaders will spend a year in War College.

The Army leaders could easily try to justify cutting back education to pay for other shortfalls.  The Army is always short: Equipment, soldiers, and money.  Saving money and time on education would not seriously hinder day to day operations in the Military and the organization would continue to function.  However, our senior military leaders realize that the future price we would pay for the shortfall of education would not be worth the temporary gains.  Senior leaders have learned that it is better to cut back in almost every other area before taking away from education, or they will pay a tremendous, inexcusable price in blood later.

I hope that our state leadership can learn this lesson from the military.  It is tempting to treat education as just another venue to save money.  However, education is different.  Cutting back on education will save money for pressing temporary needs, but will have severe, detrimental effects on the next generation of leaders.  By the time we see the effects of educational shortfall, it will be too late.  We will learn when we are old and see that the next generation of leaders has not been properly taught how to function.

Tags: Citadel, conservative, education, higher education, Lieutenant Governor, South Carolina, south carolina lieutenant governor, university, USC Law School

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