[PDF] Forging A Total Force The Evolution Of The Guard And Reserve 2018 eBook

Author : Forrest L. Marion
Publisher :
Page : pages
File Size : 37,54 MB
Release : 2018
Category : United States
ISBN : 9780160943881

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"Forging a Total Force traces the evolution of the Guard and reserve from the Revolutionary War-era militias to today's operational reserve, an integral part of the nation's total force. In the early republic, the ideal of a citizen-solider, capable of taking the field with little or no training, predominated. The realities of modern combat slowly made it clear that a more professional force was required, but policy changes failed to keep up with that changing necessity. The nation struggled to provide adequate training and equipment to the reserve component throughout the Cold War until the idea of a Total Force, which integrated regular and reserve components, emerged and was achieved. It wasn't until the defense buildup of the 1980s that the ideal of a combat-ready reserve became reality. The core of this book focuses on what came next, from 1990 to 2011, with particular emphasis on the decade after 9/11. The Persian Gulf War demonstrated both the effectiveness of the reserve and the challenges it continued to face. The post-Cold War drawdown during the 1990s made the smaller active component more dependent on the reserves than it had been since the nation's founding. The reserve component proved itself yet again in the wars following 9/11, but also became strained as it became clear just how much the nation depended on its Guard and reserve. Finally, the authors detail the policy changes made midstream in an attempt to address issues with the overextended force, such as balancing training and deployment with civilian lives and careers, providing health care to reservists, and integrating the active and reserve components. The authors conclude by detailing the issues policymakers will face as they forge ahead with citizen-soldiers serving as an operational force."--Provided by publisher.

Author : William A. Taylor
Publisher : University Press of Kansas
Page : 360 pages
File Size : 45,38 MB
Release : 2023-06-24
Category : History
ISBN : 0700634819

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The all-volunteer force (AVF), created in conjunction with the end of the draft in 1973, has been the most significant development in modern American military history. Since its inception, the influence of the AVF has reached far beyond the US armed forces, affecting the very character of American civil-military relations. While its successes and challenges continue to be widely discussed and fervently debated, one thing is certain: the AVF is critical to both US national security and the fabric of American society. The insightful, cogent, and provocative essays contained in this timely volume represent a crucial first step in assessing the AVF after fifty years of service. Here, fifteen renowned authors speak to vital issues that remain relevant today and will endure well into the future. The AVF has garnered both triumphs and shortcomings but continues to be an essential institution. Engaged dialogue about the AVF is crucial to ensure that it remains ready to meet and overcome potential threats and that policymakers address the central obstacles it faces today. The All-Volunteer Force is the most comprehensive assessment of the force since its advent and reveals the momentous sway the AVF has had on the military, government, and society in the United States. In crafting this far-reaching collection of essays, William A. Taylor examines the AVF in four distinct parts, analyzing its history, results, challenges, and implications. In doing so, this compelling book explores all the major facets of the AVF—past, present, and future. This dynamic volume brings together a multidisciplinary group of distinguished authors who each bring to bear important perspectives on specific aspects of the AVF. These contributors include leading scholars, general officers, civilian policymakers, and personnel experts who collectively provide a holistic assessment of the accomplishments and shortcomings of the AVF during its fifty years of service.

Author : Katherine Carroll
Publisher : Taylor & Francis
Page : 318 pages
File Size : 37,98 MB
Release : 2022-08-11
Category : History
ISBN : 1000630544

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This book offers an accessible introduction to the U.S. military as an institution and provides insights into the military’s structure and norms. Designed for undergraduate students, the book offers an interdisciplinary overview of America’s armed forces through three critical lenses. First, it introduces the military’s constitutional and historical context. Second, it presents concise factual information chosen for its relevance to the military’s structures, procedures, norms, and varied activities. Finally, it intersperses these facts with debates, theories, and questions to spark student interest, class discussion, and further research. The text is written for the beginner but covers complex topics such as force structure and the defense budget. With contributions informed by both scholarly approaches and long military careers, the book will prepare students for further studies in international relations, civil-military relations, or U.S. foreign policy. It also encourages critical thinking, elucidating an institution that undergraduates and other civilians too often perceive as both baffling and above reproach. This book will be of much interest to students of the U.S. military, civil-military relations, U.S. politics, and public policy.

Author : Agnes Gereben Schaefer
Publisher :
Page : 132 pages
File Size : 31,1 MB
Release : 2020-07-07
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9781977400086

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While all U.S. military services have strived to achieve greater total force integration and a stronger total force culture across their active and reserve components, significant impediments limit the achievement of these objectives. Thus, the issue continues to capture the attention of policymakers who seek ways to overcome these impediments and facilitate greater integration. This priority has been addressed most recently by national commissions addressing the future of both the Army and the Air Force. While each of these sets of proposals provides ideas for enhancing integration and providing a greater total force culture, the proposals are neither complete nor fully reflective of all potentially relevant policies and practices. Further, the policy prescriptions are service specific and do not reflect broader insights that cut across services. Last, none of these efforts clearly define the desired purpose and end state for integration against which integration initiatives can be evaluated. For these reasons, a more comprehensive analysis is needed of policies and practices that can contribute to the ultimate objective of improving total force integration and achieving a total force culture. The objective of this study is to provide insights on policies that can foster cross-component integration and incentives for cross-component service that contribute to the most effective total force possible and benefit individual service members, as well as both the active and reserve components. The focus of this report is on factors that can increase cross-component knowledge and awareness, which contribute to achieving the larger goal of cross-component integration.

Author : Forrest L. Marion
Publisher : Naval Institute Press
Page : 312 pages
File Size : 35,3 MB
Release : 2023-12-15
Category : History
ISBN : 1682472434

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Although the United States won the race to the moon, the Soviets were far more active in space than Americans during the decade that followed. By the 1980s, some space experts feared the United States was in danger of being surpassed in space, including dual-use systems that might be employed offensively in a military confrontation. A few experts, looking ahead, recommended a space force within roughly two decades. Standing up Space Force is organized chronologically by presidential administration, beginning in the middle of the Clinton years and progressing through the Trump administration. During the Clinton and George W. Bush years, the move to national security space was incremental. The Obama presidency witnessed the rise of NewSpace entrepreneurs whose impressive space activities facilitated their initial partnering with U.S. government National Security Space (NSS) missions helping the United States keep pace with China and Russia. During the Trump administration, all necessary elements finally came together – most significantly, presidential-congressional leadership and bipartisan support – to eventually produce the fiscal 2020 national defense authorization act (NDAA). Because the NDAA authorized and provided for the Space Force, when the President signed the defense bill on 20 December 2019, at the same moment he officially established the nation’s sixth armed service.