This paper lays out a set of general principles and philosophical assumptions for an educational program for Coast Guard officers. The central theme is the assumption that decision-making in a broad range of contexts is the key feature that characterizes the function of commissioned officers. The concept of educating future officers to make such choices is related to an established model of intellectual development in order to make the connection to course and curriculum design decisions. A section titled "General Structure of the Officer Preparation Curriculum" identifies the basic components of the educational program. A section on "The Importance of Style" follows with a discussion of unity of purpose for the curriculum. Two sections, "Identifying the Issue" and "Finding the Theme," discuss the goal of educating for choice making. The next section, "Making Choices," explores the principle of free choice in more detail. Subsequent sections translate these ideas into the reality of a military college curriculum: "Choice and the Commissioned Officer,""Attributes of Choice-makers,""Relating Choice to Education,""Educating for Choice-Making,""The Basic Tools,""Putting Theory into Practice," and "Generalizing the Process.""Is It Working?" addresses evaluation and how to build it into the educational system. Six references are included. (JB)