An approach to completing a senior officer oral history (USAWC Military Studies Program paper)
by Robert P. Reddy, Army War College (U.S.)
Category: Oral history

The Military History institute's Senior Officer Oral History Program is an essential component of the Army's efforts to capture and record our history. Its objective is to use student officers assigned to the US Army War College to interview all retired lieutenant generals and general several years after they have retired. These documents, as well as official records and various accounts of historically significant events, provide a very rich and complete account of the past. This paper describes, from the perspective of a student officer, the various steps associated with completing a Senior Officer Oral History. It is hoped that the document will assist future students who become involved in the program. The paper focuses on the importance of research into the subject officer's military career, the importance of an outline which is a key document for communicating proposed ideas to the subject officer, and some innovative ways to employ computer technology in completing the final product. The paper has appended to it an outline as well as the question set which was used in the process of completing a Senior Officer Oral History.