This book has as its subject matter the academic education of officers and builds on the signing of the Bologna Declaration in 1999 by twenty-nine European ministers for Education and Science, who thereby agreed to coordinate higher education across Europe, by, for instance, the implementation of the Bachelor's and Master's system. In the meantime, military academies have also introduced the BaMa system into their programs for officers' education, which marks a transition from the old days, when officers' education took place within a national military system, under military command, and was firmly grounded in principles, traditions and needs, as professed by the Ministries of Defence and the armed forces in particular. So the Bologna Declaration can be seen as crucial leverage for the development of in-house academic degree programs as a fundamental part of officers' education. With this volume, the editors of NL ARMS 2019 strive to offer a platform to both academics and military and civilian practitioners, as well as to combinations of these, to reflect and share their thoughts on officers' education `before and after' Bologna, both in The Netherlands and abroad. To this end, controversies and challenges, affecting various aspects and systems of officers' education, have been grouped into five themes. Respectively, the first four themes comprise institutional settings and change; educational philosophy; educational challenges and reflective practices; and didactical solutions. The fifth theme, international perspectives, provides insights into the strategic environments and challenges faced by sister-academies, as well as ways to further officers' education across Europe, such as offered by Erasmus programs. All the editors of this year's volume are affiliated with the Faculty of Military Sciences of the Netherlands Defence Academy in Breda, The Netherlands.

As an organization operating under extreme conditions, the military is often confronted with destructive behavior from individuals, organizations, and societies. Written by experts from a variety of disciplines, this open access book reflects on confrontations with violence under extreme conditions and the various challenges that arise. By examining real first-hand accounts of soldiers’ deployments, the contributions shed new light on the multifaceted and sometimes hidden dynamics of destructive violent behavior and offer an ethical reflection on military practices. In addition, they address topics such as moral decision-making in violent contexts, military trauma, organizational change, and military ethics education. The interdisciplinary exploration of these topics has been the primary focus of Désirée Verweij, who was the Chair of Military Ethics at the Netherlands Defence Academy from 2008 to 2021. The contributions in this book are written in honor of her scholarly achievements and help to ensure that these important issues continue to receive attention. The book will appeal to scholars of military studies, organizational studies and military ethics, and to professionals and decisionmakers in military organizations.

This book has as its subject matter the academic education of officers and builds on the signing of the Bologna Declaration in 1999 by twenty-nine European ministers for Education and Science, who thereby agreed to coordinate higher education across Europe, by, for instance, the implementation of the Bachelor's and Master's system. In the meantime, military academies have also introduced the BaMa system into their programs for officers' education, which marks a transition from the old days, when officers' education took place within a national military system, under military command, and was firmly grounded in principles, traditions and needs, as professed by the Ministries of Defence and the armed forces in particular. So the Bologna Declaration can be seen as crucial leverage for the development of in-house academic degree programs as a fundamental part of officers' education. With this volume, the editors of NL ARMS 2019 strive to offer a platform to both academics and military and civilian practitioners, as well as to combinations of these, to reflect and share their thoughts on officers' education `before and after' Bologna, both in The Netherlands and abroad. To this end, controversies and challenges, affecting various aspects and systems of officers' education, have been grouped into five themes. Respectively, the first four themes comprise institutional settings and change; educational philosophy; educational challenges and reflective practices; and didactical solutions. The fifth theme, international perspectives, provides insights into the strategic environments and challenges faced by sister-academies, as well as ways to further officers' education across Europe, such as offered by Erasmus programs. All the editors of this year's volume are affiliated with the Faculty of Military Sciences of the Netherlands Defence Academy in Breda, The Netherlands.