During the presidency of Montgomery M. Macomb in 1916, President Woodrow Wilson accused students and staff of planning for taking part in an offensive war, even though the United States had not entered World War I. Wilson was unconvinced by Macomb's explanation that the college was concerned only with the intellectual growth and professional development of its students, and insisted that the school curtail its activities in order to ensure that the U.S. maintained its neutrality.

[8][9] Malin Craig served as commandant prior to being appointed Chief of Staff of the United States Army in 1936, and he was succeeded by Walter S.

CSL's professional staff and Collins Hall facility host, support, develop, and conduct events, including workshops, symposia, conferences, games, and exercises focused on a broad range of strategic leadership and national security issues and concepts in support of the USAWC, the U.S. Army, and the Interagency and Joint Communities.

When the program was founded in 2003, its purpose was to provide those officers who had been newly designated into Functional Area 59 (Strategist, formerly Strategic Plans & Policy) an introduction to strategy and to the skills, knowledge, and attributes needed as a foundation for their progressive development as army strategists.

Since then, graduates of this program served in key positions in Iraq and Afghanistan, all combatant commands, and at the Pentagon.