Students at Fort Meade's Officer Candidate School are studying the Battle of the Little Big Horn to learn from the events and decisions that led to the demise of Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer and his 7th Cavalry Regiment.

More than 100 officer candidates and instructors traveled this week to the southeast Montana site of the June 25, 1876 battle between Custer and the Sioux and Cheyenne. The trip is hosted by the 196th Regiment, Regional Training Institute, South Dakota Army National Guard.

"The purpose of a staff ride is to look at historic battles and see what happened on the ground," said Lt. Col. Gary Miller, senior instructor from Rapid City. "It's a learning exercise for the candidates - what did Custer do right, what did he do wrong, and how does that apply to scenarios the candidates may find themselves in on a future battlefield?"

Using the principles of war, officer candidates study the battle in depth and dissect what went right for the Sioux and Cheyenne and what went wrong for Custer and the more than 260 men that died under his command.

"The staff ride really brings all the lessons we've learned together, teaching us to be effective leaders," said Officer Candidate Keith Bryant of Sturgis. "It's a great way to look at both sides - not only in Custer's failures but also how the Native Americans had success in this battle."

"You have so many elements that are happening; small unit activities, command and control, maneuverability," Miller said. "Both Custer and the Native Americans were fighting, reacting, learning and changing their tactics - that is what we are seeing in Iraq and Afghanistan."

Officer Candidate Eric Tobin of Rapid City said seeing the battlefield in person makes a difference. "There is only so much you can take in from the classroom, but when you walk where the battle actually took place it becomes clear in your mind what actually happened, and why they did some of

the things they did," he said.

This is the second year the Little Big Horn staff ride has been offered as part of the curriculum at the institute. Developed by retired Sgt. Maj. Robert McPherson, it has become an important part of developing military leaders.

"The staff ride's sole purpose is to further the professional development of U.S. Army leaders," said McPherson, instructor for the College of Eastern Utah: San Juan Campus, Blanding, Utah. "It's a versatile educational tool used to train junior officers in military tactical thought and operational art."

McPherson wrote a staff ride book for the training institute with maps and graphics outlining the battle in every detail. With military teaching points and eyewitness narratives, the book is an account of the day's events.

"What we are trying to stress are the nine principles of war and implement those in the student's minds," said McPherson. "Hopefully they will walk away from this experience understanding what they are learning had application back then as well as today."

Both instructors and candidates alike feel this particular battle is especially suited for helping young leaders prepare for future combat operations.

"With Civil War battles, where there were brigades, regiments and armies and thousands of soldiers and moving parts, it's hard for candidates to understand the scope and complexity of what is happening," said McPherson.

"The Little Big Horn battle is ideal for the candidates because you have smaller elements and it's not too complex to grasp what is going on."

"I think the lessons we learn from the battle are very applicable to today's war zone," Officer Candidate Bryant said. "We are fighting a very non-conventional enemy like Custer was. We have to be prepared for anything and the most probable course of action isn't always the most likely."