Military Reform
A Reference Handbook
Published on 1. September 2007
Book
Hardback
256 pages
978-0-275-99349-8 (ISBN)
Description
This volume will help the reader understand fundamental strengths and weaknesses in America's military forces, thereby leading to a comprehension of what genuine military reform is, and is not, and what remains to be done. Ideas will be presented to compare genuine reform to cosmetic dabbling, which fundamentally improves nothing and which sometimes arrives as ill-conceived fads that promise only to burden US combat forces to the point of mental and physical immobility. The work will trace the history of various attempts to impose military reform on American armed forces, especially from Congress, starting during the American Revolution and Continental Congress up through the present day. Particular focus will be placed on the effort of a small group in Congress and the Pentagon in the 1980s (who coined the term military reform in the modern context). Emphasis will be on the reforms these actors advocated, variously successful and unsuccessful, to fundamentally alter how the Department of Defense designs and buys hardware and how our armed forces fight. The book will use Operations Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom (and the subsequent insurgency in Iraq) to demonstrate what has been reformed in US armed forces and the Department of Defense, and what has not.
Reviews / Votes
"This work is suitable for large academic and public libraries, and for collections supporting military science and national security studies....Recommended. Upper-level undergraduates and above." - Choice "Wheeler....and Korb....explain the strengths and weaknesses of America's military forces, shedding light on what genuine military reform is and is not, and what remains to be done." - Parameters "[T]he folks at Praeger Security International continue their mission of providing readers with insight and understanding of how America's military functions in an era of global uncertainty. Military Reform: A Reference Handbook is authored by Winslow T. Wheeler and Lawrence J. Korb and details the history of attemps at reforming America's armed forces. These two eminent authors examine the critical issues associated with military reform in an effort to distinguish them from cosmetic dabbling." - SciTech Book News "A straightforward guide to understanding fundamental strengths and weaknesses in America's military forces.... A serious-minded, number-crunching, cost-conscious analysis heavily grounded in scientific-minded obeservation and practical experience, highly recommended for military history and studies shelves, and a must-read for anyone involved in overseeing military operations or structure." - Midwest Book ReviewMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Target group
College/higher education
Interest Age: From 7 to 17 years
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 19 mm
Weight
555 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-275-99349-8 (9780275993498)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Winslow T. Wheeler worked on national security issues for 31 years for members of the U.S. Senate and for the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO). In the Senate, Wheeler worked for Jacob K. Javits (R, NY), Nancy L. Kassebaum (R, KS), David Pryor (D, AR), and Pete V. Domenici (R, NM). He was the first, and according to Senate records the last, Senate staffer to work simultaneously on the personal staffs of a Republican and a Democrat (Senators Pryor and Kassebaum).
Lawrence J. Korb is a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress and a Senior Adviser to the Center for Defense Information. Prior to joining the Center, he was a Senior Fellow and Director of National Security Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. From July 1998 to October 2002, he was Council Vice President, Director of Studies, and holder of the Maurice Greenberg Chair. Mr. Korb also served as Director of the Center for Public Policy Education and Senior Fellow in the Foreign Policy Studies Program at the Brookings Institution, Dean of the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh, and Vice President of Corporate Operations at the Raytheon Company.
Lawrence J. Korb is a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress and a Senior Adviser to the Center for Defense Information. Prior to joining the Center, he was a Senior Fellow and Director of National Security Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. From July 1998 to October 2002, he was Council Vice President, Director of Studies, and holder of the Maurice Greenberg Chair. Mr. Korb also served as Director of the Center for Public Policy Education and Senior Fellow in the Foreign Policy Studies Program at the Brookings Institution, Dean of the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh, and Vice President of Corporate Operations at the Raytheon Company.
Content
Preface
Chapter 1 A Mixed History in Congress and the Executive Branch
Winslow T. Wheeler
Chapter 2 Some Lessons from the Dustbin of History
Winslow T. Wheeler
Chapter 3 Falling Off the Mountain: Congress and the Press Quit Military Reform
Winslow T. Wheeler
Chapter 4 The Lost Decade
Lawrence J. Korb
Chapter 5 Defense Transformation
Lawrence J. Korb
Chapter 6 From Tethered Goats and Military Jackasses to Reform
Winslow T. Wheeler
Chapter 7 Conclusions: What Is Military Reform?
Winslow T. Wheeler
Appendix I Fire the Generals!
Douglas Macgregor
Appendix II From Swift to Swiss
Donald E. Vandergriff
Appendix III Statement to Congress
Franklin C. Spinney
Appendix IV Genghis John
Franklin C. Spinney
Appendix V Fourth Generation War
William S. Lind
Suggested Readings
Index
Chapter 1 A Mixed History in Congress and the Executive Branch
Winslow T. Wheeler
Chapter 2 Some Lessons from the Dustbin of History
Winslow T. Wheeler
Chapter 3 Falling Off the Mountain: Congress and the Press Quit Military Reform
Winslow T. Wheeler
Chapter 4 The Lost Decade
Lawrence J. Korb
Chapter 5 Defense Transformation
Lawrence J. Korb
Chapter 6 From Tethered Goats and Military Jackasses to Reform
Winslow T. Wheeler
Chapter 7 Conclusions: What Is Military Reform?
Winslow T. Wheeler
Appendix I Fire the Generals!
Douglas Macgregor
Appendix II From Swift to Swiss
Donald E. Vandergriff
Appendix III Statement to Congress
Franklin C. Spinney
Appendix IV Genghis John
Franklin C. Spinney
Appendix V Fourth Generation War
William S. Lind
Suggested Readings
Index