The modern course produces "leaders with the flexibility of mind to solve complex operational and strategic problems in peace, conflict, and war".

[6] Various senior military leaders have recognized the contributions of SAMS graduates in supporting global contingency operations.

[11] After receiving final approval, Wass de Czege helped plan and develop the school, which would open in mid-1983.

"[13] In June 1983, the first class of 13 US Army students began in the basement of Bell Hall at Fort Leavenworth.

[14] Initially, there were some internal problems with facilities and scheduling,[15] and in the school's early years there was uncertainty whether its graduates would be accepted and how they would perform in the force.

[16] When the first director, Wass de Czege, was succeeded by Colonel Richard Sennreich in 1985, the school was already beginning to produce results and the US Army and the college regarded SAMS as a "useful experiment".

"[21] After its mission in Panama, the army's leaders began to draw on SAMS to assist in additional ways.

[22] Lieutenant General Guy C. Swan noted that SAMS graduates were indispensable in Europe after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact.

[30] SAMS students from the 2002 and 2003 classes participated as planners in the preparations for the invasion of Iraq and the plan for the post-combat occupation.

[35] The school moved to new premises in the newly renovated Muir Hall at Fort Leavenworth on 30 August 2011.

[38] SAMS graduates are known for their "critical thinking skill sets",[39] and are consistently called for by combatant commanders around the world.

According to Major General David Hogg, "SAMS has a reputation for producing skilled planners that can take complex ideas and develop cohesive plans.

"[41] In 2010, army Vice Chief of Staff Peter W. Chiarelli said that SAMS was "at the forefront of the effort to remake strategic military planning for the 21st century".

Applicants must also complete the US Army's Command and General Staff School or an equivalent intermediate-level education course offered by another uniformed service.

[42] Argentina, Australia, Colombia, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Jordan, Republic of Macedonia, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Romania, South Korea, Brazil, Spain, and the United Kingdom have also sent students through the course.

[48] After graduating, officers serve on a division, corps, or Army Service Component Command staff, or in a functional area assignment.

In 1995, the name of the program was changed to the Advanced Operational Art Studies Fellowship (AOASF), and in the early 21st century its curriculum was more closely aligned to the strategic level of war.

In 2013, the program was again modified in part to bring it more in alignment with TRADOC policies, and to prepare it for Joint Professional Education II accreditation.

The ASLSP curriculum provides a comprehensive, multifaceted focus at the theater-strategic level across the spectrum of Joint and land force operations during peace, crisis, and war.

Graduates typically serve in a follow-on command assignment or work for a three- or four-star general officer as a member of his or her staff.