Goal –Target Master Sergeant: The MLC provides the Army with competent senior noncommissioned officers (NCOs) who maintain a positive presence and who are self-aware, adaptive, and able to shape the joint operational environment.  Grounded in Army and Joint doctrine, MLC graduates will take advantage of challenges by exploring opportunities that leverage all available resources.  The senior NCO of today must understand Decisive Action and Mission Command executed through combined arms formations.  The MLC delivers operations-capable master sergeants who can lead their organizations to fight and win in complex operational environments, where battalions maneuver in formations from division to corps level.

Problem-based Environment –ALC-TE: The ALC-TE 2020-2040 directs courses to replicate "the complex global environment within the learning context and conditions" through a variety of means. We optimize individual and collective learning by learner focused courseware using a team concept to help replicate the staff setting and reinforce their understanding of human dimension capabilities. The entire course is set within the Decisive Action Training Environment (D.A.T.E.) 3.0 context. 

Doctrinal Context –Army Vision: The Army Strategy states the Army Vision as "The Army of 2028 will be ready to deploy, fight and win decisively against any adversary, anytime and anywhere, in a joint, combined, multi-domain, high-intensity conflict, while simultaneously deterring others and maintaining its ability to conduct irregular warfare… Training will be tough, realistic, iterative, and battle-focused."

Blackboard (Bb): The digital learning platform is a key part of the learning process. All products, grading, and feedback must be input into Bb so that the Army can run reports, aggregate data, generate metrics, and measure the course effectiveness for rapid improvement.

Narrative: Learners experience the problem with the related stress while learning. Next, learners solve the problem in light of what they just experienced. The process is the goal, not a product. Learners will be able to think, collaborate, and solve problems in the complex global environment.