<p class="MsoNormal">You can train a military as much as you want, but if you are not training the right skills for the coming fight, it is all wasted effort. Learning first is vital. The British military experience around the First World War – before, during and after – can be salutary when thinking about military training and education. Just as the British Army was getting serious about professional military skills, it was torn apart by indecision about whether the lessons from the Boer War would be useful for all future campaigns or were completely context specific. Dr Aimée Fox from King's College, London talks to Peter about how the military learned, how that impacted on training and education, and why some of those tensions remain extant today.</p>

You can train a military as much as you want, but if you are not training the right skills for the coming fight, it is all wasted effort. Learning first is vital. The British military experience around the First World War – before, during and after – can be salutary when thinking about military training and education. Just as the British Army was getting serious about professional military skills, it was torn apart by indecision about whether the lessons from the Boer War would be useful for all future campaigns or were completely context specific. Dr Aimée Fox from King's College, London talks to Peter about how the military learned, how that impacted on training and education, and why some of those tensions remain extant today.

<p>You can train a military as much as you want, but if you are not training the right skills for the coming fight, it is all wasted effort. Learning first is vital. The British military experience around the First World War – before, during and after – can be salutary when thinking about military training and education. Just as the British Army was getting serious about professional military skills, it was torn apart by indecision about whether the lessons from the Boer War would be useful for all future campaigns or were completely context specific. Dr Aimée Fox from King's College, London talks to Peter about how the military learned, how that impacted on training and education, and why some of those tensions remain extant today.</p>

First learn, then train, then fight

Training a military force is a proposition unlike the one faced by other civil organisations: It has to prepare people to perform in the chaos and turmoil of battle – even simple tasks like making deliveries or baking bread become very different in the face of artillery fire or roadside bombs. It's not just about mental pressure and physical discomfort, it is about facing death while doing the mundane and business-as-usual tasks. It is, perhaps, the greatest test of humans and has always been so. As military training has evolved (along with the force it enables), so have the opportunities in technologies such as simulation: are the benefits without bounds, or is there a point that the benefits of simulation tail off? What mix of virtual and physical performance maximises performance? And amongst all of this is the reality of organisational culture, and the cost-effectiveness of training. How much of this training can be outsourced to a commercial provider? What is the optimal amount of training done away from the cauldron of combat, and how much must be exercised under arms and stressing conditions? Answering these questions is crucial if we are to all understand the importance of training in a military force – and how to optimise it to win in the greatest of contests. Listen to the series as we talk to people who think a lot about military training - from the professional soldiers and commanders to the academics who study it, as well as the commercial operators who are increasingly being employed to deliver it.

Share First learn, then train, then fight

Sign up to save your podcasts

First learn, then train, then fight

First learn, then train, then fight

More shows like How To Train A Military

The Cove Podcast

This Means War

Command and Control

Cogs of War