MILPER Message
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Updated – 3 October 2017
web address: http://www.hrc.army.mil/bop
I. General (R) Wayne A. Downing Scholarship.
1. Program Description: The General Wayne A. Downing Scholarship Program is sponsored by the West Point Association of Graduates (WPAOG) and aims to develop the strategic thinking of tomorrow’s operational leaders by providing select Army officers the opportunity to study terrorism and counterterrorism at top tier graduate schools. This scholarship program is open to males and females from all commissioning sources in the Operations and Military Intelligence branches. The program simultaneously offers immersion experiences that expose Downing Scholars to the U.S. counterterrorism interagency community, foreign counterterrorism forces, different cultures and ways of understanding the threats facing the United States today. Scholars are selected based on their exceptional military record, commitment to service, leadership potential, and desire to deepen their understanding of terrorism and political violence. The program seeks to extend General Downing’s legacy by recognizing the importance of educating leaders to not only understand the present threat, but to be prepared for future operating environments. Officers selected for participation will be appointed fellows of the United States Military Academy Combating Terrorism Center (USMA CTC) while in the program. Officers selected for this program will receive credit for ILE Phase II (AOC) and be ILE (MEL4) complete, providing they meet the following criteria: complete ILE Common Core through a 14 weeks ILE satellite course or through distance learning, complete all requirements of the General Wayne A. Downing Scholarship Program, including at least one utilization tour, and be in zone for attendance or selection for attendance at the Intermediate Level Education.
2. ILE Statement: (ILE) attendance is governed by Army Regulation 350-1, Army Training and Leader Development. Officers competing for, or selected under Optimized ILE to attend a 10-month resident venue and selected for a broadening opportunity program approved for AOC credit, are only eligible to attend the 14-week satellite course. If your broadening program timeline will not allow you to attend ILE in the academic year you are scheduled to attend, you must submit an ILE deferment or change of venue to distance learning request IAW the annual ILE MILPER message or contact your career manager for assistance.
3. Universities include but are not limited to the list below. Officers may request a specific university and field of study in their application provided the program is related to the study of terrorism and political violence. However, scholars must be flexible in the determination of university and field of study and understand that the WPAOG has the final decision on this subject. Applications requesting MBA programs will not be considered, nor will applications for one year executive programs.
A. U.S. based schools: Columbia University, School of International and Public Affairs; Georgetown University National Security Program; Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government; Johns Hopkins, School of Advanced International Studies; Syracuse University, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs; Tufts University, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy; Princeton University, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs; Yale University, Jackson Institute for Global Affairs; or Stanford University.
B. Foreign based schools will not be considered without strong justification. Applicants requesting a foreign based school must also provide U.S. based preferences as well.
C. Proposed course of study: candidates need to indicate what graduate program they desire to attend, the particular program of study and desired immersion experiences. Security studies, political sciences and international relations/affairs are the preferred areas of study with a focus on terrorism/counterterrorism studies.
4. Selection Process:
A. Phase I: The U.S. Army Human Resources Command (HRC), Fort Knox, KY 2019 Downing Scholarship Selection Panel will convene on 15 May 2018. Applicants will be notified of these results not later than 15 June 2018.
B. Phase II: The names and applications, of the top fifteen candidates, will be submitted to the West Point Association of Graduates for final selection of scholars. Candidates will be notified of final results not later than 30 September 2018.
5. Scholarship Tenure/Location:
A. Scholars will be assigned to the U.S. Army Student Detachment, Fort Jackson, SC with duty at their selected university.
B. Scholars will begin their program summer/fall 2019 and complete approximately 24 months thereafter.
6. Obligations incurred:
A. Scholars incur a three for one active duty service obligation (ADSO), computed in days, for every day in program. This ADSO is served consecutively with other civilian ADSOs.
B. Post scholarship assignment will be to an operational/tactical assignment, determined by scholar’s career manager.
7. Eligibility Criteria:
A. Be an Active Component branch qualified captain or major.
B. Possess one of the following career branches: Infantry, Engineer, Field Artillery, Air Defense Artillery, Aviation, Special Forces, Armor, Information Operations, Military Intelligence, Military Police, PSYOP, Civil Affairs, Chemical, or Cyber.
C. Captains must have successfully completed key assignment, IAW DA Pam 600-3, as a captain, and successfully completed the Captain’s Career Course.
D. Majors must not have more than 18 month’s time-in-grade as of August 2019.
E. Have between 5 and 14 Active Federal Commissioned Service (AFCS) years, by August 2019.
F. Have potential for future military service.
G. Not have a graduate degree paid for by the U.S. Army. This means the tuition and fees were solely funded by the U.S. Government. Degrees funded through the Tuition Assistance (TA) Program, Degree Completion Program and Cooperative Degree Program; Intermediate Level Education Program; or GI Bill Programs do not apply.
H. Not be pending any adverse actions, not at risk for promotion or passed over for promotion to the next grade.
I. Meet army height and weight requirements.
J. Hold a current secret clearance or higher.
K. Must be able to complete full scholarship without interruption.
L. Have an undergraduate grade point average of 3.0 or better. (May be waived if the officer possesses a graduate degree from an accredited university or submits a statement of academic readiness to be a graduate degree student, see paragraph 8 A (7) for statement. Undergraduate GPA’s below 2.5, without a graduate degree, will not be considered.)
M. Must have a minimum graduate record exam (GRE) test scores of verbal minimum of 150, quantitative minimum of 144. Test date must be within five years as of August 2019.
N. Demonstrates and exemplifies the “Warrior Ethos”.
O. Must not have been selected for any of the broadening opportunity programs, listed at http://www.hrc.army.mil/bop, within the last ten years. This does not include the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) or the HQDA Strategic Broadening Seminars Programs.
8. How to Apply:
A. Not later than 13 April 2018, email the following to joel [dot] d [dot] strout [dot] civ [at] mail [dot] mil in PDF Format. Subject title of email “Request to Compete for B.O.P.”:
(1) Commissioned Officer Broadening Opportunity Application.
(2) Most current DA Form 705 (Army Physical Fitness Test Score Card) and DA Form 5500/5501 (Body Fat Content), if applicable.
(3) Three separate essays addressing the following issues (can be in any format and not longer than 500 words per essay. Your name/grade must be on each statement.):
Essay Question 1: Explain why the Downing Scholars Program is a desired next step in your career. How does this program fit with your short (5 year) – and long-term (10 year) career goals and why this is the best program for you at this point in your career? Title statement “Essay 1”. Not more than 500 words.
Essay Question 2: Who is your greatest role model and why? Not more than 300 words. Title statement “Essay 2”.
Essay Question 3: What are your research interests? Not more than 150 words. Title statement “Essay 3”.
(4) List of preferred universities and field of study by preference, see paragraph three. Can be in any format. Your name/grade must be on statement. Title statement “List of Preferred Universities”.
(5) Letters of recommendation (LOR). Minimum of two and a maximum of five. One LOR must be from current commander. Can be in any format. Address to “President of the Selection Panel”. (Suggestion: If you are applying for more than one program have the recommender recommend you for “any broadening opportunity program” instead of a specific program.)
(6) Copy of “official” GRE scores. (Code for HRC is 5852, department code is 5199).
(7) Only applicants with a bachelors GPA below 3.0 and no graduate degree must submit: statement explaining academic readiness to be a graduate school student. Also state the circumstance(s) or why an undergraduate GPA below 3.0 was obtained (e.g. played four years of a d1 athletic sport, or switched programs, family emergency, etc.) Can be in any format. Your name/grade must be on statement. Title statement “Academic Readiness to be a Graduate School Student”.
(8) Only if you are applying for more than one program: The following statement: “I understand if I am applying for more than one program, I may not receive my first preference and I further understand my selection or non-selection is determined by the selection panel’s order of merit list (OML) of the program(s) I am requesting to compete for. I understand if I am selected to attend one of the program(s) I am competing for, I will not be considered for any other program and I will accept the program I was selected for”. Can be in any format. Your name/grade must be on statement. Title statement “Applying for More Than one Broadening Opportunity Program.”
(9) Memorandum for Record with the following information (any format): grade, name, last four of your SSN, baccalaureate degree GPA, graduate degree GPA (if applicable), GRE scores (verbal/quantitative/analytical), defense language aptitude battery scores (if applicable), and the following statement: “I understand that if I am selected for a General Wayne A. Downing Scholarship, I will incur an active duty service obligation (ADSO) of three days for each day I am in my selected Broadening Opportunity Program and that this ADSO is served consecutively with other civilian ADSOs. I also understand I will be obligated to serve an immediate two-year post scholarship assignment to an operational/tactical assignment, determined by my career manager. I authorize the U.S. Army Human Resources Command to release all documents to anyone who may require them in connection with my nomination and or selection to a broadening opportunity program”.
B. Your nomination will be reviewed by your career branch and Leader Development Division for eligibility, availability and derogatory information. You will receive an email stating your status within ten working days from submission.
9. Available broadening programs, please go to http://www.hrc.army.mil/bop.
10. Point of contact is joel [dot] d [dot] strout [dot] civ [at] mail [dot] mil.
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