Abstract

The unique experience known as the “Staff Ride” is an important part of Professional Military Education (PME). Unfortunately, despite a growth in the acceptance of “active learning” approaches to education – particularly for teaching management and leadership – the staff ride model has not been widely adopted in many of the educational and professional disciplines where it has the potential to be an effective tool. There have been a small number of examples of its use both in academic and professional education outside of the military, but the advantages of the staff ride are such that wider use would be a valuable addition to those studying public safety management in fields like criminal justice, homeland security, and emergency management. This article compares the staff ride to active learning and the Harvard Business School “case method,” and shows that it shares many of the same desirable traits as widely accepted models.

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