Sustainability of Universal ILE

The US Army instituted a long contemplated decision in 2005 when it began sending all majors to resident Intermediate Level Education (ILE) at either the year long course at Ft. Leavenworth, KS or one of three satellite courses consisting of a three and a half month long core curriculum. For many years, the Army utilized a central selection board to determine who would attend resident education; approximately 50% of majors were selected. The concept of universal education was overdue and was a result of recommendations from numerous review boards, studies and officer surveys. The purpose of this research was to determine whether universal ILE is sustainable. This was a mixed methodology research project consisting of qualitative analysis and quantitative student surveys. The results show the Army values education and the long term benefits of sending an officer to learn in a year long academic course. Universal ILE is not sustainable. The decision to provide resident ILE education for all majors was founded on numerous examinations of the officer education system; however the Army failed to set the conditions to ensure the system could support universal ILE. The Army cannot send all majors to ILE because there are too many operational requirements. The current Global War on Terror (GWOT) exacerbates the situation preventing even fewer from attending. Universal ILE was instituted to eliminate education as a discriminator, yet the force structure cannot sustain each officer getting an education.