Research for Future Years Defense Plans

As the Navy has downsized its forces, funding for a variety of activities has dropped. The Navy's flagship schools, The United States Naval Academy, The Naval War College, The Naval Postgraduate School, and for purposes of this study, The Armed Forces Staff College, have not been immune to these reductions. In response, N81 asked CNA to take a bottom-up look at each the Navy's flagship schools. The main goals of the assessment were, first to evaluate the current quality of condition of the schools, and second, to help determine the level of funding needed over the Future Year Defense Plan (FYDP) to maintain Navy schools as 'top-tier' institutions. The study summarizes the findings and recommendations regarding funding and opportunities for efficiency improvements. One important finding focuses on the effectiveness of the current structure of the graduate education system. Although the flagship schools offer excellent graduate and professional military education, the Navy does not use its graduates in a manner consistent with these programs of study.