INVESTING IN THE MILITARY’S FUTURE THROUGH STRATEGIC RESEARCH
By Steve Metz August 1, 2018
Leaders both inside and outside the professional military education system are often skeptical of basic research. It is inefficient by nature.
Should military institutions pursue research that is not directly tied to immediate organizational needs? The case for applied research is clear, since it seeks to solve defined problems. But what about basic research, which advances knowledge more for its own sake, often with only a vague sense of its application potential? Leaders both inside and outside the professional military education system are often skeptical of basic research. It is inefficient by nature. Much of it never pans out – full of dead ends and wasted effort. Yet it is also essential to the military, a vital investment in its future and a core function of the service academies and war colleges. Indeed the war colleges need more of it.
https://warroom.armywarcollege.edu/articles/strategic-research-in-military/
