Military Leadership

The Civil War was a defining moment in the life of our College; it tested and crystalized our founding commitments and has ever since defined who we are, what we stand for, and what we have since become. This one-semester three-credit course educates students about the Hillsdale College Civil War experience. Using primary sources-letters, essays, speeches, battle reports-it offers rich personal insights into the lives of the Civil War generation and the values, principles, and virtues they learned, lived, fought and died for. The class is required for the Military Leadership minor and is open to all students interested in learning about our College and the experience and legacy of the Civil War generation.

Gettysburg is one of the great battles not only in American history but in world history: the importance of the issues at stake, the great number of soldiers on both sides, the dreadful sacrifice of life, and the display of courage and heroism that ranks among the highest ever made by men in war. Counted among those who fought are fifty-three Hillsdale College students, three of whom gave Lincoln's "last full measure" and one of whom is buried at the Gettysburg National Cemetery. This three-credit summer term course educates students about the battle of Gettysburg and the contribution made by Hillsdale College students. The course includes a week-long visit to Gettysburg and an extensive walking tour of the battlefield and the ground where Hillsdale College students fought and died. During the tour, we will discuss the many tactical situations and the decisions and actions of the leaders involved. The class is an elective for the Military Leadership minor and is open to all students with an interest in learning about the battle of Gettysburg and contribution made by Hillsdale College students.

American military officers share a common moral foundation and practice a common professional ethic that is rooted in the American military experience going back to George Washington and the "Minute Men" of the Revolution. This three-credit one-semester course introduces students to this distinctive American military tradition of officership-commissioned leadership. The course takes a historical approach focusing on a selection of generals and other officers who played significant roles in fighting our wars and shaping the beliefs, values, virtues, principles, and standards of excellence that constitute the moral foundation of American officership. The class is required for the Military Leadership minor but is open to all students with an interest in the military, military history, martial and civic virtue, professionalism, professional ethics and leadership.

Leadership, especially in the extremis of combat, is a junior military officer's essential competence and foremost-indeed, sacred-responsibility. This three-credit one semester course educates students in the fundamentals of military leadership at the small unit level (squad, platoon, company). The course takes a historical approach focusing on a selection of exemplary junior officers and non-commissioned officers and examines the principles, traits and practices exhibited by them in fulfilling their responsibilities and overcoming challenges. The class is required for the Military Leadership minor but is open to all students with an interest in the military, military history, martial and civic virtue, teams and team leadership. Students pursuing a commission are encouraged to take LDR 401 before LDR 402.

The ancient Greeks had The Iliad. The Romans had The Aeneid. We have Once an Eagle. Once an Eagle is our great American military epic. Indeed, it has been called America's War and Peace and a "battle hymn of our republic." Once an Eagle is a work of historical fiction that covers a defining period in American military history: the half century in which the modern professional American military came of age during in World War I, achieved greatness in World War II, and withered in Vietnam. Since its publication in 1968, it has been an "icon of military life" representing "the spirit, the heart, and the soul of the officer corps" and serving as a moral touchstone for American military professionals. In this 1-credit half-semester course, we will read Once an Eagle with our eyes focused on discerning the many lessons if offers about leadership and the essence of what an American military officer is and should be. This class is an elective for the Military Leadership minor and is open to all students interested in leadership, the military, military history and modern American literature.

Ever since Cain killed Abel there has been strife between human beings. When strife occurs between our political associations, war is born. The nature of war is a "violent clash of interests between or among organized groups," and just as our nature drives us to collaborate in peace, our fallen nature drives us to kill in war. Using the Marine Corps' highly influential doctrinal text on war and warfighting (Marine Corps Doctrinal Publication 1: Warfighting) as a guiding text, this course will explore the nature and conduct of war in each of its levels: tactical, operational, and strategic. It seeks to understand war as a part of the human condition and the broad impact it has had throughout history including as recorded in the arts. It explores the evolution of maneuver warfare in the modern era, its chief architects, and examples of it in action. This course will expose participants in a small degree to some of the environmental and psychological aspects of warfighting through puzzles, physical scenarios, and tactical decision games. This course is an elective for the Military Leadership minor and is open to all students with an interest in the military, military history, leadership, and the nature and conduct of war.

Despite over a hundred years of scientific study, we still lack a good answer to the problem of how to teach and learn leadership. Peel away our modern penchant for scientific theory, practical skills, and psychological assessments, and we find that teaching and learning leadership is essentially a problem of human moral development-of becoming morally mature and possessing the virtues of character requisite to the responsibilities and challenges of leadership. This three-credit one-semester course takes an eclectic approach drawing on the experience and wisdom of the best classical and modern "thinkers and doers" of leadership. The emphasis is formative: to broaden and deepen students' understanding of the practical and moral complexities of leadership and to help students begin to cultivate in a serious way the virtues of character and moral maturity that will make them worthy of leadership. The format is more like a developmental seminar than a traditional academic class: materials, class discussion, assignments and evaluation are all designed for students to make a close, critical, and personal study of leadership culminating in a personal leadership philosophy. The class is required for the Military Leadership minor but is open to all students with an interest in leadership, virtues, and character development. The class is also cross-listed with BUS 418: Readings in Leadership, Power, and Responsibility and may be counted toward the Military Leadership minor or as a Business elective.

What makes biblical leadership "biblical"? What, if anything, makes leadership in the bible different from leadership in the "world"? Is there anything about biblical leaders-Abraham, Moses, David, Elijah, Jeremiah, Esther, Jesus, Peter, Paul-that sets them apart from worldly leaders? And, if we aspire to lead in a truly biblical way, what is required of us and how do we prepare ourselves for this "way"? These are the questions at the heart of this three-credit one-semester course. The purpose is to help students grasp essential truths about biblical leadership and prepare for the challenge and responsibility of being a true servant leader of God. This class is an elective for the Military Leadership minor and is open to all students interested in leadership, the Bible, and spiritual growth and maturity.