The Senior Level College Program is the primary focus of the Army War College and the best known of their programs.

Ralph J. “R. J.” Gore, a Professor of Systematic Theology at Erskine Seminary, and former Vice President and Dean of the Seminary, also has served for 25 years as a U. S. Army Chaplain, with significant active duty experience. Selection to attend the Army War College is itself a sign of a significant career record.

In 1986 R. J. was commissioned in the Army National Guard and served as chaplain for the 119th Maintenance Battalion for over two years. He then entered active duty January 1989 and served as the Chief, Department of Ministry and Pastoral Care at Walson Army Community Hospital, Fort Dix, NJ until June, 1991. R.J. then moved to the Republic of Korea to serve as chaplain for the 6th Battalion, 37th Field Artillery, MLRS, Second Infantry Division, for one year. After completing the Chaplain Advanced Course, he served with 2nd Battalion, 16th Infantry, First Infantry Division (Mech) for 3 years.

Afterwards, he returned to reserve status although he was called to two other periods of active duty over the years: in the Summer of 2003 for 90 days at the Army Chaplains School as Small Group Leader for the Chaplain Career Course, and for all of 2004 with the 172nd Corps Support Group, Balad, Iraq. He currently serves as Command Chaplain for 108th Training Command (IET) with over 10,000 soldiers in three subordinate divisions and supervises nearly 60 chaplains and chaplain assistants in a 48 state footprint.

The Senior Level College Program is the primary focus of the Army War College and the best known of their programs. Students attend Senior Level Colleges only after extensive and highly successful performance at the direct and organizational levels of leadership.

While a small number of Army officers may have worked within the strategic arena, for most of our students the strategic level of leadership is an unfamiliar environment that is much less structured and certain than the conditions they have previously experienced.

Successful performance in this new realm will require students to break some old habits, hone existing critical skills, and develop new competencies. To succeed in the strategic environment requires these future senior leaders to think differently than they have in the past.

Senior Level College curricula are designed to produce graduates who can:
· Distinguish the uniqueness of strategic level leadership and apply competencies required by strategic leaders.
· Use strategic thought processes to evaluate the national security challenges and opportunities facing the United States in the 21st Century.
· Evaluate the theory of war and strategy.
· Evaluate DOD, joint, interagency, intergovernmental, multinational, and NGO processes and relationships, including Army contributions to the nation in peace and war.
· Evaluate the role of landpower in joint, interagency, intergovernmental, and multinational operations.
· Synthesize theater strategies, estimates, and campaign plans to employ military power in a unified, joint, multinational and interagency environment.
· Synthesize critical elements, enablers, and processes that define the strategic environment in peace and war.
· Study and confer on the American military profession and guide its future direction.

Both the resident and distance education programs adhere to this paradigm, although the delivery systems are different. The resident program is a ten-month course of study, while the distance education program is taught over two years and includes two two-week-long resident courses. Both programs result in a Diploma and a Master of Strategic Studies (M.S.S.) degree.

R.J. is a graduate of Bob Jones University where he received the B.A. and M.A. degrees (Biblical Studies, Pastoral Studies). In 1979 he moved to the Philadelphia area and began studies in several institutions. He holds the M.A. and S.T.M. degrees from Faith Theological Seminary (Biblical Literature, New Testament Exegesis) and the M.A. degree from St. Charles Borromeo Seminary (Dogmatic Theology). In 1988 R.J. graduated from Westminster Theological Seminary with the Doctor of Philosophy degree (First Honors). He majored in Systematic Theology and his dissertation examined the Puritan regulative principle of worship from biblical, historical, and theological perspectives. In 2009 he completed the Doctor of Ministry degree at Erskine Theological Seminary with a focus on preaching in the digital age.

R.J. is married to Joan (Green, of Philadelphia) and they have three children, Matthew (B.A., Erskine College; M.A.T.S., Th.M., Erskine Theological Seminary), Colin (B.A., Erskine College), and Alison (Covenant College Class of 2011). Joan is a graduate of Temple University (B.B.A.) and holds the Master of Arts in Christian Education and the Master of Arts in Theological Studies degree from Erskine Theological Seminary.