My recent post on the nature of the Professional ethic (with crosspost and seperate discussion here) brings into focus the requirement for a competent and scholarly academy to produce works of military history, as well as theoretical works on the arts and sciences of war.
A series of excellent posts at Chicago Boyz & ZenPundit are worth reviewing. Where there are crosspostings, ensure you read both posts to get the full discussions.
- Academia’s Jihad Against Military History (ChicagoBoyz & ZenPundit)
- Academia’s Jihad Against Military History: Further Thoughts(ChicagoBoyz only)
- Oh By The Way: Academia’s Jihad Against Military History is Not Succeeding(ChicagoBoyz only)
- “I hope the officers of her Majesty’s army may never degenerate into bookworms”(ChicagoBoyz only)
- The Warrior-Scholar(ChicagoBoyz only)
These were exceedingly illuminating posts, and must thank Lexington Green and ZenPundit for their roles in the dialog.
As an aside, this academy need not be composed of professors, although they are necessary too. The academy requires the active participation of practitioners–meaning actual officers.
Update: Hanson wrote a good essay on military history and the academy (h/t to City Journal). It can be found here. It is definitely worth a read, too.
Posted by smitteneagle 
