Each spring a group of international military students from allied nations begin a twelve-month training program at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College at nearby Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Officers, and their families, are assigned to participating members of GKCPTP. "Sponsorship" does not involve financial support, but does include the commitment to develop and nurture a personal relationship with officers and their families. Simply put, sponsorship is spending time with officers as their time allows and extending hospitality to their families.
Participants repeatedly mention how the relationship is mutually rewarding and beneficial.
Each foreign officer has three sponsors. One sponsor is a member of the U.S. Military stationed at Ft. Leavenworth. One sponsor family is from the Lansing/Leavenworth community and one sponsor family is from the Greater Kansas City People to People Chapter.
A typical class consists of approximately 115 international students representing over 95 countries. International military education began at Fort Leavenworth in 1894. Since then, more than 8,000 international officers from 165 countries have attended classes alongside their United States counterparts.
International students from CGSC have been extremely successful in their military careers. Nearly half of the international students who graduate from the course go on to achieve general officer rank. The college’s International Hall of Fame includes 262 international officers from 71 countries who have achieved the position of Chief of their nation’s Army or higher. Twenty seven course graduates have become heads of state.
The international students in the class join more than 1,050 United States Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard officers for the 10-month class that graduates in June each year. In addition, approximately a dozen civilians from U.S Government partner agencies and departments will attend the class. Also included in class are approximately four Department of the Army civilians. The course is designed to develop war-fighting and adaptive leadership skills necessary for military officers to be proficient in Unified Land Operations.
CGSC strives to be an educational center of excellence that is renowned in the study of leadership, the conduct of joint and combined land warfare, and the application of Joint, Interagency, Intergovernmental, and Multinational organizations to synchronize all elements of power to achieve national objectives. The College supports field commanders with well-trained and well-educated leaders, in-depth research in operational-level studies, and reach-back planning in support of ongoing operations.
Click Here to download our latest Sponsor Tips Handout.
Click Here to download the Sponsorship Article from the CGSC Foundation Magazine.
Click Here to download the International Military Student Cultural Guide.
Click Here - International Military Student/family access to benefits and services policy
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