Mission
Develops senior leaders and supports the strategic needs of the Army by:
- Educating senior military and civilian leaders on Landpower at the operational and strategic levels
- Developing expert knowledge & solutions for the Operating and Generating Force
- Conducting research activities, strategic exercises and strategic communication
Intent
Key to the capability of the CSL is our ability to provide solutions using the project team concept. The CSL has the ability to pull together regional and/or functional teams including core CSL personnel, other members of the USAWC, contractors, think tanks, academic institutions and other Joint, Interagency, Intergovernmental and Multinational organizations. This project team concept allows us to develop a team, accomplish a mission, and then change the team based upon new requirements.
End state
Contribute to the education of world class senior leaders; develop expert knowledge and provide solutions to Army strategic issues affecting the national security community.
History
Collins Hall is home to the Center for Strategic Leadership and Development (CSLD). A totally new construction, the building was completed and dedicated in July 1994. Collins Hall was named for General J. Lawton (Lightning Joe) Collins who served the nation for nearly 40 years, from his West Point graduation until his retirement in 1956. He was a member of the U.S. Army War College Class of 1938 and faculty member, 1938-1940; Commander of the 25th Infantry Division on Guadalcanal; VII Corps Commander from Normandy to the surrender of Germany; and Army Chief of Staff, 1949-1953. In 1950, through his personal efforts, General Collins reopened the Army War College and positioned it at the apex of the Army educational system, with a curriculum based on a deeper understanding of foreign affairs and national security policy, the study of the nature of future war, and the use of wargaming and simulation.
Collins Hall and its principal resident, the Center for Strategic Leadership and Development, serves as an education center and high technology laboratory focused on the decision making process at the interagency, strategic, and operational levels in support of the Army War College, combatant commanders, and senior army leadership. While simulations and wargaming have been used at the Army War College for many years, Collins Hall expands this capability. Built as a result of the vision of the Army's senior leadership, it represents a conscious decision to apply modern information-age technology to strategic-level decision making through wargames, simulations, conferences, seminars, and meetings in both the educational and operational setting. The facility provides computer and visual information tools, a talented staff, and communications nodes to support senior leaders in tackling high-level problems facing today's Army. Collins Hall is representative of the War College's continuing dedication to excellence into the 21st Century.