Press Releases

Washington, D.C. – Today, House Armed Services Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Ranking Member Rob Wittman, along with Chairman Vic Snyder (D-Ark.), announced the completion of the subcommittee’s year-long assessment of the professional military education (PME) system. The report released today, “Another Crossroads? Professional Military Education Two Decades After the Goldwater-Nichols Act and the Skelton Panel,” is the first comprehensive congressional review of the PME system since the Skelton Panel’s groundbreaking review in 1989. 

“I had great confidence in the professionalism of our officer corps when we began this study, and have even more now that we are finished,” said Wittman. “Our professional military education system continues to evolve from its historic roots and remains sound. As expected in any large dynamic enterprise, we found a number of areas that need attention, and I look forward to working with the Department to make professional military education even better.”

During its year-long review of PME, the subcommittee conducted six open hearings, visited all of the PME schools and institutions, met with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and all of the Service Chiefs, met with nine of the ten Combatant Commanders and their staffs, and had discussions with countless experts, educators, operational leaders, and current and former officers about the current state and future direction of PME.

The full Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee report on PME is available from the House Armed Services Committee website at: http://armedservices.house.gov/ 

Congressman Rob Wittman represents the First District of Virginia. He was elected to his first full term in November 2008 and serves on the Natural Resources Committee and the Armed Services Committee where he is the Ranking Member of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee.