Eisenhower School

The Dwight D. Eisenhower School of National Security and Resource Strategy (Eisenhower School) is a Department of Defense educational institution tasked with preparing select military officers and government civilians for those senior leadership positions tasked with the resource component of national security. Special emphasis is placed on materiel acquisition, joint logistics, and their integration into national security strategy, whether for peace, whether for war.

The Eisenhower School's curriculum is an executive-level course of study, one based around rigorous research and study, which awards a Master of Science degree in National Resource Strategy.

History

The United States suffered severe mobilization difficulties during World War I. To prevent a recurrence the Army Industrial College was established in 1924 to focus on wartime procurement and mobilization procedure. Counted among the founders is one Bernard M. Baruch, a prominent Wall Street speculator and Chairman of the World War I War Industries Board.

While the college rapidly expanded it was forced to close at the onset World War II. It was reopened in 1943. However, even before war's end senior military officers, including Supreme Allied Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Army Industrial College class of 1933, supported the concept of a joint war college. In 1946 the school's name was changed to Industrial College of the Armed Forces (ICAF). From its wartime classrooms in the Pentagon ICAF moved to Fort McNair, near the newly founded National War College, and began a 10-month course of instruction. In 1948 Secretary of Defense James V. Forrestal removed the college from Army jurisdiction, reconstituting it “as a joint educational institution under the direction of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.”

In 1960 ICAF moved into its present location, Eisenhower Hall. Over the ensuing decade ICAF's character of changed dramatically. As the United States found itself increasingly involved in Vietnam ICAF shifted from focusing on national industrial mobilization to educating leaders logistical resource management to address such conflicts at that in Vietnam. So to did the student demographic change, with the first woman and African American students graduating in 1973.

In 1976 ICAF was incorporated into the newly established National Defense University. In 1986 the Goldwater-Nichols Defense Reorganization Act called for increased attention toward joint military integration through education. In response ICAF expand its curriculum, among others adding a model acquisition course. In 1991, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Colin Powell gave responsibility of educating the Senior Acquisition Corps to the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. In 1993 Congress passed legislation recognizing the Industrial College of the Armed Forces Master's of Science in Resource Strategy.

 This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Government document "http://www.ndu.edu/ICAF/history/index.htm".