Military academy

A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally provides education in a military environment, the exact definition depending on the country concerned.
Three types of academy exist: pre-collegiate-level institutions awarding academic qualifications, university-level institutions awarding bachelor's-degree-level qualifications, and those preparing officer cadets for commissioning into the armed services of the state.
A naval academy is either a type of military academy (in the broad sense of that term) or is distinguished from one (in the narrow sense). In U.S. usage, the Military, Merchant Marine, Naval, Coast Guard, and the Air Force Academy serve as military academies under the categorization of service academies in that country.
The first military academies were established in the 18th century to provide future officers for technically specialized corps, such as military engineers and artillery, with scientific training.
The Italian Military Academy was inaugurated in Turin on January 1, 1678, as the Savoy Royal Academy, making it the oldest military academy in existence. The Royal Danish Naval Academy was set up in 1701. The Royal Military Academy, Woolwich was set up in 1741, after a false start in 1720 because of a lack of funds, as the earliest military academy in Britain. Its original purpose was to train cadets entering the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. In France, the École Royale du Génie at Mézières was founded in 1748, followed by a non-technical academy in 1751, the École Royale Militaire offering a general military education to the nobility. French military academies were widely copied in Prussia, Austria, Russia. The Norwegian Military Academy in Oslo, educates officers of the Norwegian Army. The academy was established in 1750, and is the oldest institution for higher education in Norway.
By the turn of the century, under the impetus of the Napoleonic Wars and the strain that the armies of Europe subsequently came under, military academies for the training of commissioned officers of the army were set up in most of the combatant nations. These military schools had two functions: to provide instruction for serving officers in the functions of the efficient staff-officer, and to school youngsters before they gained an officer's commission. The Kriegsakademie in Prussia was founded in 1801 and the École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr was created by order of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802 as a replacement for the École Royale Militaire of the Ancien Régime (the institution that Napoleon himself had graduated from).
The Royal Military College, Sandhurst, in England was the brainchild of John Le Marchant in 1801, who established schools for the military instruction of officers at High Wycombe and Great Marlow, with a grant of £30,000 from Parliament. The two original departments were later combined and moved to Sandhurst.
In the United States, the United States Military Academy (USMA) in West Point, New York was founded on March 16, 1802, and is one of five service academies in the nation.
A military school teaches children of various ages (elementary school, middle school or high school) in a military environment which includes training in military aspects, such as drill. Many military schools are also boarding schools, and others are simply magnet schools in a larger school system. Many are privately run institutions, though some are public and are run either by a public school system (such as the Chicago Public Schools) or by a state.
A college-level military academy is an institute of higher learning of things military. It is part of a larger system of military education and training institutions. The primary educational goal at military academies is to provide a high quality education that includes significant coursework and training in the fields of military tactics and military strategy. The amount of non-military coursework varies by both the institution and the country, and the amount of practical military experience gained varies as well.
Military academies may or may not grant university degrees. In the US, graduates have a major field of study, earning a Bachelor's degree in that subject just as at other universities. However, in British academies, the graduate does not achieve a university degree, since the whole of the one-year course (undertaken mainly but not exclusively by university graduates) is dedicated to military training.
There are two types of military academies: national (government-run) and state/private-run.
Argentine Army:
Argentine Navy:
Argentine Air Force:
(offers an education with military values for civilians students of primary and secondary school)
Brazilian Army:
(prepares students for admission to one of the official training academies)
Brazilian Army:
Brazil's Navy:
Brazilian Air Force:
Brazil's Navy:
Brazilian Army:
Brazil's Navy:
Brazilian Air Force:
Brazilian Army:
Brazil's navy:
Brazilian Air Force:
Two post-secondary military academies are operated under the Canadian Military Colleges system, the Royal Military College of Canada (RMCC) in Kingston, Ontario; and Royal Military College Saint-Jean (RMC Saint-Jean) in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec. RMCC was established in 1876, while RMC Saint-Jean was established in 1954. The two institutions provided military education to officer cadets of all three elements in the Canadian Forces; the navy, army and air force; with RMC granted the authority to confer academic degrees in arts, science and engineering by the 1960s. From 1940 to 1995, the Department of National Defence operated a third military college in Victoria, British Columbia, known as Royal Roads Military College (RRMC).
Graduates of the colleges are widely acknowledged to have had a disproportionate impact in the Canadian services and society, thanks to the solid foundations provided by their military education. Military discipline and training, as well as a focus on physical fitness and fluency in both of Canada's two official languages, English and French, provided cadets with ample challenges and a very fulfilling experience. In 1995 the Department of National Defence was forced to close RRMC and RMC Saint-Jean due to budget considerations, but RMCC continues to operate. (In the fall of 1995, the campus reopened as a civilian institution, Royal Roads University.) In 2007, the Department of National Defence reopened RMC Saint-Jean as a military academy that offers equivalent schooling as CEGEP, a level of post-secondary education in Quebec's education system. In 2021 RMC Saint-Jean was returned to university status and had officer cadets graduate and received their commission for the first time since 1995.
In addition to Canadian Military Colleges, the Canadian Armed Forces also operate a number of training centres and schools, including the Canadian Forces College, and the Canadian Forces Language School. The components of the Canadian Armed Forces also maintain training centres and schools. The Canadian Army Doctrine and Training Centre (CADTC) is a formation in the Army that delivers combat, and doctrinal training. The CADTC includes several training establishments, such as the Canadian Manoeuvre Training Centre, Combat Training Centre, Command and Staff College, and the Peace Support Training Centre. The 2 Canadian Air Division is the formation responsible for training in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), and includes establishments like the Royal Canadian Air Force Academy, 2 Canadian Forces Flying Training School, and 3 Canadian Forces Flying Training School. The RCAF also maintains the Canadian Forces School of Survival and Aeromedical Training.
In addition to publicly operated institutions, Canada is also home to one private military boarding school, Robert Land Academy, in West Lincoln, Ontario. Founded in 1978, it is an all-boys' institute that is fully accredited by Ontario's Ministry of Education. The school offers elementary and secondary levels of education, providing schooling for students from Grade 6 to Grade 12.
National Army of Colombia:
Colombian Air Force:
Colombian Naval Infantry and Colombian Navy:
National Police of Colombia:
The standard education in military leadership is the task of the Offizierschulen (officers' schools) run by the three branches. The contents differ from branch to branch. According to the doctrine "leading by task", in the army all prospective platoon leaders are trained down to the level of a commander of a mixed combat battalion. There they also have to pass an officer exam to become commissioned later on.
Moreover, there exist so called Waffenschulen (schools of weapons) like infantry school or artillery school. There the officers learn to deal with the typical tasks of their respective corps.
A specialty of the German concept of officer formation is the academic education. Germany runs two Universities of the German Federal Armed Forces where almost every future officer has to pass non-military studies and achieve a bachelor's or master's degree. During their studies (after at least three years of service) the candidates become commissioned Leutnant (second lieutenant).
The three officer's schools are:
Academic and staff education:
The Hellenic Armed Forces have military academies supervised by each branch of the Armed Forces individually:
Highest Military Academies (ΑΣΣ) or Higher Military Educational Institutions (ΑΣΕΙ):
Higher Military NCO Academies (ΑΣΣΥ):
Despite their names (Greek: Σχολές Υπαξιωματικών, lit. 'Sub-officers' Academies'), their alumni can advance to the rank of Antisyntagmatarchis/Antipterachos/Antiploiarchos.
The Indonesian Military Academy was founded in Yogyakarta, October 13, 1945, by the order of General Staff Chief of Indonesia Army Lieutenant General Urip Sumohardjo as the Militaire Academie (MA) Yogyakarta.
Currently, the Tentara Nasional Indonesia or the TNI (Indonesian National Armed Forces), under the supervision of the Commanding General of the Indonesian National Armed Forces Academy System (a two or three-star officer in billet) in the HQ of the Indonesian National Armed Forces, has divided the academies into the three respective services:
Each service academy is headed by a two-star general who serves as superintendent, and his/her deputy is a one-star officer. All the students (cadets/midshipman) are recruited from senior high school graduates from all over Indonesia. Shortly after graduation, they are commissioned as Letnan Dua (Second Lieutenant/Ensign) in their respective service branches and receive a bachelor's degree comparable to those awarded by civil academies or universities. The length term is now 4 years and is divided into five grades of cadets' ranks, starting from the lowest:
Taruna is also a nickname to cadets in the Military, Naval, and Air Force Academies, however other nicknames such as Kadet refers to cadets in the Naval Academy, while Karbol refers to cadets in the Air Force Academy. The term "Taruna" however still applies to all cadets from the three academies.
Until 1999, before the Indonesian National Police officially separated from the armed forces, the Indonesian Police Academy ("AKPOL") also stood under the National Armed Forces Academy but now has separated from the Military and is under the auspices of the President of Indonesia controlled by the National Police Headquarters (Mabes Polri), where in the other hand the Armed Forces (Army, Naval, and Air Force) Academies of Indonesia is under the auspices of the Ministry of Defense controlled by the Armed Forces General Headquarters (Mabes TNI). Presently, the Police Academy is in Semarang (Central Java), and is supervised under the supervision of the Chief of the Indonesian National Police (Kapolri).
All three academies and the Police Academy have a joint 4th class cadet training program since 2008, after completing it the cadets go to their respective academies to continue with the three remaining years of study before commissioning.
Iran has five main military universities:
High school level institutions (only for classical and scientific liceum, starting from grade 10):
2009–2010 school year was the first school year with girls attending.
Non Commissioned Officer (NCO) schools:
University level institutions:
Secondary level institutions:
University level:
Specialist training and staff institutions:
Reserve Officer Training Units (Malay: Pasukan Latihan Pegawai Simpanan or PALAPES) or ROTU exists only in public universities in Malaysia. This is a tertiary institution based officer commissioning program to equip students as officer cadets with military knowledge and understanding for service as commissioned officers in the reserve components of the various branches of the Malaysian Armed Forces.
Tier One – initial officer training
Tier Two – junior officer education
Tier Three – senior officer education
Undergraduate officer training
The Philippines patterned all its service academies after the United States Military Academy (West Point) and the United States Merchant Marine Academy (King's Point).
These higher education institutions are operated by the Philippine Government and grant different baccalaureate degrees.
Aside from the PMA and the PMMA, all three branches of the AFP have their own Officer Candidate Course Programs for both men and women, patterned after their US counterparts.
The nation's higher military colleges are:
The three main military academies:
Other military academies:
See also: Cadet Corps (Russia), Military academies in Russia
Uganda maintains the followings military training institutions, as of December 2010:
A number of public and military universities have specialized military institutes, military colleges, faculties, departments of military training, divisions of military training, departments of disaster medicine and military medicine. The purpose of such institutions is the military training of students and cadets under the reserve officer training program, and some of them conduct training, retraining and advanced training of military specialists of the appropriate levels of higher education (bachelor or master) for military service in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, others formed in accordance with the laws Ukrainian military formations (Defence Forces of Ukraine), as well as law enforcement agencies for special purposes (Security Forces of Ukraine) and the State Transport Special Service of Ukraine.
A number of public state and regional lyceum (high school) with enhanced military and physical training (boarding schools) such of cadet corps in other countries.
There are also numerous Cadet forces that operate for all branches of the armed forces for children aged 10–20. These are not designed to recruit people into the armed forces but rather are simply Ministry of Defence sponsored youth organisations.
Although an undergraduate degree is not a prerequisite for officer training, the majority of potential officers will have attended university before joining the Armed Forces. At some universities there may be the option for people to join either a University Royal Naval Unit, a University Officer Training Corps (UOTC) or a University Air Squadron, which are designed to introduce students to life in the Forces and show them the careers that are available as well as allowing them to undertake reserve training alongside their degree. People sponsored under the Defence Technical Undergraduate Scheme will join one of the four Support Units attached to universities participating in DTUS. There is a requirement for bursars of DTUS to join the military for three years after completion of their degree, there no requirement for students of any other organisation to join the military after they finish their degree programs. Although service with these organisations may give some initial benefit to officer cadets attending the military colleges/academies, the next stage of the officer training programs assumes no prior military experience/knowledge, and those that did not partake in military activities at university are not disadvantaged.
There are now four military academies in the United Kingdom. Although the curriculum at each varies due to the differing nature of the service a man or woman is joining, it is a combination of military and academic study that is designed to turn young civilians into comprehensively trained military officers.
Officer Training for the Reserve Forces (e.g. Army Reserve, Royal Naval Reserve, RAF Reserves and Royal Marines Reserves) also takes place at the relevant military academies, but under a different curriculum and the courses tend to be concentrated into a much shorter period – a significant amount of the study will be undertaken at the officer cadet's reserve unit.
In the United States, the term "military academy" does not necessarily mean a government-owned institution run by the armed forces to train its own officers. It may also mean a middle school, high school, or college, whether public or private, which instructs its students in military-style education, discipline and tradition. Students at such civilian institutions can earn a commission in the U.S. military through the successful completion of a Reserve Officer Training Corps program along with their college or university's academic coursework.
Most state-level military academies maintain both a civilian student body and a traditional corps of cadets. The only exception is the Virginia Military Institute, which remains all-military.
The colleges operated by the U.S. Federal Government, referred to as federal service academies, are:
There is one all-military state-sponsored military academy:
In addition, these five institutions that were military colleges at the time of their founding now maintain both a corps of cadets and a civilian student body. Many of these institutions also offer on-line degree programs:
Along with VMI, these institutions are known as the senior military colleges of the US.
Today four institutions are considered military junior colleges (MJC). These four military schools participate in the Army's two-year Early Commissioning Program, an Army ROTC program where qualified students can earn a commission as a Second Lieutenant after only two years of college. The four military Junior colleges are as follows:
There are six state-operated Merchant Marine academies:
These merchant marine academies operate on a military college system. Part of the training that the cadets receive is naval and military in nature. Cadets may apply for Naval Reserve commissions upon obtaining their Merchant Marine Officer's licenses. Most if not all also offer some form of military commissioning program into the active duty US Navy, US Marine Corps, or US Coast Guard.
The United States staff colleges, mandated to serve the needs of officers for post-graduate studies and other such graduate institutions as mandated by the Department of Defense are: