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A forgotten reformer changed how we think about military education, then got written out of the story. We dig into Alden Partridge’s bold vision for the citizen-soldier, why his mastery-based model threatened entrenched interests, and how his practical ideas—shorter paths for proven mastery, rigorous field training, and decentralized leadership—can still fix what’s broken in today’s force.

Franklin Annis walks us through Partridge’s rise at West Point during the War of 1812, the political crossfire that led to his court-martial, and his pivot to building militia-focused academies that influenced Norwich and VMI. We connect the dots to modern pain points: time-in-seat schooling that bores high performers, career assembly lines that miss real talent, and a headquarters culture that mistakes long hours for results. You’ll hear how competency-based progression, pretesting, and mission command can restore merit, accelerate excellence, and respect the only irreplaceable resource—time.

We also ground the conversation in philosophy and practice. Stoicism offers a leader’s toolkit for fair discipline, self-accountability, and resilience under pressure. A constitutional view of defense argues for a lean active force backed by a trained, capable militia—an approach that can lower costs and improve readiness by leveraging real-world civilian skills found across the Guard and Reserve. And we wrestle candidly with standards and inclusion: equal dignity, equal rules, transparent consequences, and selection by performance.

If you care about military education, talent management, or building better leaders faster, this conversation gives you a roadmap rooted in history and tested by experience. Subscribe, share with a teammate, and leave a review with the one change you’d make first—what would you accelerate, and what would you cut?

Stories of Service presents guests’ stories and opinions in their own words, reflecting their personal experiences and perspectives. While shared respectfully and authentically, the podcast does not independently verify all statements. Views expressed are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the host, producers, government agencies, or podcast affiliates.

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