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 or is distinguished from one. 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.

History

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 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 in West Point, New York was founded on March 16, 1802, and is one of five service academies in the nation.

Types

Pre-collegiate institutions

A military school teaches children of various ages 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 or by a state.

Adult institutions

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 is dedicated to military training.
There are two types of military academies: national and state/private-run.
  • Graduates from national academies are typically commissioned as officers in the country's military. The new officers usually have an obligation to serve for a certain number of years. In some countries all military officers train at the appropriate academy, whereas in others only a percentage do and the service academies are seen as institutions which supply service-specific officers within the forces.
  • State or private-run academy graduates have no requirement to join the military after graduation, although some schools have a high rate of graduate military service. Today, most of these schools have ventured away from their military roots and now enroll both military and civilian students. The only exception in the United States is the Virginia Military Institute which remains all-military.

    Albania

  • Armed Forces Academy

    Angola

  • Army Military Academy
  • National Air Force Academy
  • Naval Academy

    Argentina

  • Colegio Militar de la Nación, in El Palomar, Buenos Aires
Argentine Navy:
Argentine Air Force:

Belarus

Basic Education

Brazilian Army:
Brazilian Army:
Brazil's Navy:
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Brazilian Air Force:
  • ''''

    Sailor and Marine Soldier Training

Brazil's Navy:
  • Centro de Instrução Almirante Milcíades Portela Alves '
  • Centro de Instrução e Adestramento de Brasília '
  • '
  • * '
  • * '
  • * '
  • * ''''

    Sergeants Training

Brazilian Army:
  • '
  • '
  • '
Brazil's Navy:
  • Centro de Instrução Almirante Alexandrino '
  • Centro de Instrução Almirante Sylvio de Camargo
Brazilian Air Force:
  • ''''

    Officers Training

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 in Kingston, Ontario; and Royal Military College 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.
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 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 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, 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.