Military Academy (Switzerland)

Military Academy (MILAK) at ETH Zurich
founding	1911
place	Birmensdorf
Canton	Zurich
Country	Switzerland
Coordinates	674 895 / 245835 coordinates: 47 ° 21 '33 " N , 8 ° 25' 48" O ; CH1903: six hundred seventy-four thousand eight hundred and ninety-five / 245835
carrier	Higher cadre training in the army
management	Brigadier Peter Candidus Stocker
Website	www.armee.ch/milak

The Military Academy (MILAK) at the ETH Zurich is the training center for the training of professional officers in the Swiss Armed Forces and an internationally recognized competence center for military sciences as well as a competence center for assessment centers in the armed forces. The MILAK trains professional officers on a science-based and practice-oriented basis. It is the leading institution in Switzerland that conducts military science research at university level for the benefit of scientific knowledge and teaching. With the assessment center she contributes to the professional selection and development of important cadre functions in the army. Organizationally, it is subordinate to the Higher Cadre Training of the Army (HKA), but is scientifically part of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich. Brigadier Peter C. Stocker has been in command of the military academy since January 2017 .

history

The Military Academy (MILAK) at ETH Zurich has a 125-year history of development. Since 1877, the military science training of professional officers has been an educational offer of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich. The first military school started in the autumn semester of 1911. This traditional link between the military academy and the university takes the opportunity to train as a military specialist in close contact with the rest of the university.

After sometimes violent disputes, the Federal Council decided on October 26, 1877 to set up a "military department" at the Swiss Federal Polytechnic in Zurich. Lectures should be given in the following areas:

War history
strategy
tactics
Army organization
Army Administration
Engineering: weapons theory, ballistics / shooting theory and fortification theory.

With this additional optional course, the Federal Council intended to offer militia officers in the Swiss Federal Army military science training on a voluntary basis.

In May 1878, Emil Rothpletz from Aargau was elected the first professor of military science and head of the military department. In 1898 the military department was given the status of an independent ETH department. In Section A, students and auditors were instructed in evening courses and in Section B officers in day courses for three semesters each. Attending the courses was voluntary even for professional officers (instructors).

At the turn of the century, the idea of offering actual specialist training for instruction officers took hold. One of the most influential proponents of this new training concept was the later General Ulrich Wille (1848–1925). From 1903 he was a lecturer, from 1909 to 1913 head of the military department. He formulated one of his training goals as follows: “You have to look at the instructor right away and train according to the same principles as any other teacher. It does not occur to anyone as a teacher who has learned the subject no further and no higher than those whose teacher he is supposed to be. ”Based on a fundamental decision in the military organization (MO) of 1907, the Federal Council decided on March 27, 1911 To carry out "military schools" for the instruction officers of the "fencing military branches". During the three-year probationary period, the aspirants had to prove their theoretical and practical qualifications for the military teaching profession.

The range of subjects has been expanded:

General war history
History of the Swiss Defense System and the Swiss Wars
Operating theory
tactics
Fastening jig
Army organization / military administration
Military education
International Law / Martial Law / Military Criminal Law
Ballistics / weapon theory / gunnery / propellants and explosives
Military geography / military topography / military telegraphy and telephony / signaling service
Military airship / military photography
Territorial service / railway and stage system
Military catering
Military medical services
Horse knowledge and horse care.

The military science and practical lessons were divided into three military schools of different lengths.

Military School I prepared the young instruction officer for his work as a class teacher in NCO schools and as a unit instructor in recruit schools. It was therefore an actual basic training. The Military School II took on first practical experience and also introduced the requirements in officers and central schools or other higher officer courses. The Military School III was intended for experienced instruction officers who, as part of their further training, were to be specially prepared for taking over a school command or for services in administration. In all military schools, emphasis was placed on promoting the cultural interest of the participants and their understanding of the concerns of public life.

For decades, the military schools at ETH remained largely the same structure and organization. The director of the military schools was also the head of the Department of Military Sciences. In this double function he was responsible for both the army management and the school management. The catalog of subjects increasingly moved away from engineering to the humanities and social sciences. This process reflects the re-evaluation of human resource competency as a complement to professional competency.

The first radical structural change occurred in the mid-1980s. The previous personal union came to an end with the introduction of a full professorship for security policy and conflict research. The director of the military schools only took over the military command of the school and the head of department XI A military sciences was transferred to an ETH professor. This resulted in interface problems that had to be regulated in legal bases.

The public courses for instruction officers now mainly comprised the areas

Military history
Security policy
Peace and Conflict Research
Law
Society and army
Technology and armed forces
Economy and Armed Forces
related subject areas.

A second development step at the beginning of the nineties triggered the conversion of the former military schools into a military command school (MFS) adapted to modern requirements. Based on an ordinance issued by the Federal Council, a new training course was implemented at the ETH Zurich and at the MFS in Au / ZH from the 1993/94 winter semester. The traditional term “instructor” has been replaced by the international term “professional officer”. The young professional officers should be registered as early as the lieutenant's age if possible. The lack of life and work experience was sought to be compensated by higher entry conditions (high school diploma, teacher training college or higher technical college) and by longer studies.

Since June 1, 2002, the MFS has been using the new name Military Academy at ETH Zurich MILAK in order to formally bear the name appropriate to its activity in an international context and to optimally meet the requirements of the Army XXI as well as research and teaching with new courses .

Even after integration into the Department of Humanities, Social and Political Sciences (D-GESS) at ETH Zurich, studies at ETH Zurich are designed to train professional officers to become competent military teaching and management personalities. They should be able to work within the framework of a modern security and social policy. This means that constant change is already mapped out.

From the beginning of the course in autumn 2002, the three-year bachelor's degree (BSG) leads to an internationally recognized bachelor's degree on which suitable career officers can build on academically. The one-year diploma course (DLG) is still available for prospective career officers with an academic degree.

With a view to Army XXI, the training of career officers has been redesigned. Mission-related advanced training courses (WAK) have been offered since autumn 2001 and, since 2002, the three-month additional training course 1 (ZAL 1) and the two-month additional training course 2 (ZAL 2). These courses are intended to prepare the career officer for function levels E3 (lieutenant colonel) and E4 (colonel).

With the integration into the higher cadre training of the armed forces (HKA), the additional training courses will be carried out in two halves from 2005 (2 × 6 or 2 × 4 weeks), mainly due to reasons of the professional stress of the graduates.

From autumn 2006, the bachelor's degree (BSG) will be extended by five weeks. For the first time from January 2007, future career officers who do not have a Matura will be trained in military school 1. This is intended to meet the increased demand for young people in the short term. From autumn 2008 the diploma course (DLG) will be extended by eight weeks.

In the course of 2010 a regular study revision was drawn up, which extended the BSG to three and a half years and the DLG to three semesters. The new study regulations have been in force since September 2011.

The new job description will be introduced on January 1, 2016. This also involves adjustments to the MILAK courses. The one-year military school 1 and 2 will be merged into a 20-month military school. The additional training courses 1–3 are now being carried out as continuing training courses 1–3 and are shortened.

Core tasks

The MILAK is the training center for the professional officers of the Swiss Armed Forces and conducts the following training:

the 3½-year bachelor course (BLG) with an integrated “Bachelor of Arts ETH in Political Sciences” in cooperation with ETH Zurich
the 1½-year diploma course (DLG) with an integrated “Diploma of Advanced Studies ETH in military sciences” in cooperation with ETH Zurich
the 20-month military school (MS)
the 10-week advanced training course 1 (WAL 1)
the 6-week advanced training course 2 (WAL 2)
the 8-week basic module of advanced training course 3 (WAL 3 GM)
various one-day or multi-day training courses (WAK)

The MILAK is an internationally recognized competence center for military sciences. She conducts research and teaching in the lectures:

Leadership and communication
Military history
Military economy
Military Psychology and Military Education
Military sociology
Strategic Studies

The MILAK is the competence center for assessment centers in the armed forces and carries out the following assessments:

Assessment center for prospective career officers (ACABO)
Assessment center for prospective NCOs (ACABU)
Assessment center for prospective general staff officers (AC Gst Of)
Assessment Center for Prospective Defense Attachés (ACAVA)

education

The focus of the university education is the imparting of specialist knowledge and skills in the military core subjects as well as the relevant political science related disciplines of the socio-political work and operational environment. The science-based and practice-related training is intended to enable the career officers to

Professional management functions at home and abroad
to teach adult-friendly as didactically skilled and technically competent trainers and educators
To work as experts trained in military science in security policy and military issues and projects
As generally educated personalities, to align their thoughts and actions with the challenges of the socio-political environment

The MILAK enables students to work independently as well as structured and methodical task management. It promotes networked and holistic thinking as well as the ability for self-reflection. It strengthens the sense of responsibility towards people and the environment and the understanding of ethical and cultural values. Personality development is an important aspect of the educational efforts in the courses.

Courses

Professional officers in the Swiss Armed Forces are trained in three different courses. The 18-month diploma course (DLG) trains participants with a university or technical college degree to become federally certified professional officers. The 3½-year bachelor course (BLG) is aimed at participants without a university degree but with a federal or cantonal Matura and is completed with a 'Bachelor of Arts ETH in Political Sciences'. Since 2007, participants without a Matura have also been trained in the military school. This lasts 20 months.

In addition to these three basic training courses, the MILAK conducts further training courses (WAL) in which already trained professional officers expand their specialist skills or are prepared for new functions. The advanced training course 1 (WAL 1) prepares career officers for two times six weeks for deployment in middle management positions. The advanced training course 2 (WAL 2) provides six weeks of the basics for employment in higher management positions. The basic module of the advanced training course 3 (WAL 3 GM) prepares prospective top military personnel for their future function. The course has a national focus and conveys security and military topics.

Teaching and Research

Research forms the basis of teaching. At the MILAK, application-oriented research is carried out in six areas. The research results flow seamlessly into the lessons and the work of the career officers.

Research focus on leadership and communication

Leadership - theory and practice (basics and areas of application)
Leadership ethics / leadership responsibility / military ethics
Conflict and crisis management
Intercultural leadership
Communication and leadership processes in society, business and the military
Leadership and communication in crises and extreme situations

Research focus lectureship military history

Comparative history of warfare and the armed forces in the western world in the 19th and 20th centuries
Transnational history of knowledge of the military in the 19th and 20th centuries
History of the Swiss Army in the 19th and 20th Centuries
Military thinking in Switzerland in the 19th and 20th centuries

Research focus lectureship in military economics

Institutional economics
Economic analysis of legal and regulatory provisions
Economy of modern economic wars
Economics of Cybersecurity
Simulation models for assessing the security of critical infrastructures

Research focus lectureship in military psychology and education

Quality features of selection and assessment processes
Essential motivating factors and ways to influence them
Influence of personality factors on job satisfaction and success
Stress and stress management in a military context
Values and virtues in the army

Research focus: Lecturer in military sociology

Foreign, security and defense policy opinion of the Swiss population
Swiss armed forces change in the militia system
Civil-military relations
Recruitment and retention
Cultural diversity (diversity) in armed forces
Social media and military

Research focus Lecturer in Strategic Studies

Strategy history and war theory ("strategic theory")
Armed forces development (“transformation”) in Europe
Analyzes of geostrategic developments and current trouble spots
Islamist terrorism and how to combat it

literature

Rudolf Jaun , Titus Meier (ed.): 100 Years of the Military Academy at the ETH Zurich - from Military School to Military Academy, 1911–2011 (= MILAK publication , no. 13). MILAK, Birmendorf 2011, ISBN 978-3-9523186-6-9 .

Web links