US Army War College Press (USAWC)
Not a member yet
3570 research outputs found
Sort by
A Historical Perspective on Today’s Recruiting Crisis
Get PDFThis article analyzes the US Army’s successive recruiting crises, identifying their consistent patterns and the efforts to resolve them, and makes three provocative arguments. First, there is a long-standing institutional tension between recruiting personnel for the combat arms and technical and administrative specialists. Second, many of today’s talent management problems were first identified in a 1907 General Staff report and reiterated in subsequent studies. Third, the Army has pursued innovative recruitment strategies, but much of their success depended on factors outside the service’s control. The essay concludes with four history-based recruiting lessons and an affirmation that the 2019 Army People Strategy recognizes the need for the Army to revise its talent management approach
Book Review: The Good Captain: A Personal Memoir of America at War
Get PDFAuthor: R. D. Hooker Jr.
Reviewed by Joseph J. Collins, PhD, retired US Army colonel
Retired Army colonel Rich Hooker’s The Good Captain is a memoir spanning the Cold War through the Global War on Terror. Hooker’s deployments take up the bulk of the book and include Grenada with the 82nd Airborne Division, Somalia to work with legendary Ambassador Bob Oakley, Zaire to coordinate humanitarian operations in Rwanda, Bosnia, and Kosovo as a parachute infantry battalion commander, the Sinai Peninsula for peacekeeping operations, command of the Dragon Brigade in Iraq and, in his last year of service, Afghanistan with the 82nd Airborne Division. His description of the politics of the high command bears close examination.https://press.armywarcollege.edu/parameters_bookshelf/1014/thumbnail.jp
A Historical Perspective on Today’s Recruiting Crisis
Get PDFThis article analyzes the US Army’s successive recruiting crises, identifying their consistent patterns and the efforts to resolve them, and makes three provocative arguments. First, there is a long-standing institutional tension between recruiting personnel for the combat arms and technical and administrative specialists. Second, many of today’s talent management problems were first identified in a 1907 General Staff report and reiterated in subsequent studies. Third, the Army has pursued innovative recruitment strategies, but much of their success depended on factors outside the service’s control. The essay concludes with four history-based recruiting lessons and an affirmation that the 2019 Army People Strategy recognizes the need for the Army to revise its talent management approach
Book Review: Military Dogs of World War II
Get PDFAuthor: Susan Bulanda
Reviewed by Reverend Dr. Wylie W. Johnson, chaplain (retired), US Army War College class of 2010
In total war, the nation calls on everyone to direct all resources toward victory—during World War II, that call extended to man’s best friend. Retired military chaplain Dr. Wylie W. Johnson reviews certified animal behavior consultant Susan Bulanda’s Military Dogs of World War II, a photographic history that highlights the value of dogs to the mission of the US military and reminds readers, as Johnson observes, of “the critical contributions made by every level of the force.”https://press.armywarcollege.edu/parameters_bookshelf/1033/thumbnail.jp
Urban Resistance to Occupation: An Underestimated Element of Land Warfare
Get PDFWith the world trending toward urbanization, and Russia and China acting aggressively toward Ukraine and Taiwan, respectively, the conduct of irregular warfare in built-up environments—specifically, urban resistance to occupation—merits greater study. The authors’ Dutch-language and primary source research on the Netherlands’ World War II urban resistance to German occupation makes this article unique. It provides deeper insights into the occupation experiences of a highly urbanized, densely populated country in which clandestine underground and auxiliary elements played paramount roles in resistance efforts for most of the occupation period. It also illustrates the feasibility of overt, guerrilla-based activity in urban environments during the final phase of a conflict and offers insight into an understudied Landpower activity that modern at-risk countries should develop and hone
The Case for an Army Stability Professional
Get PDFThe US Army is unprepared to occupy and stabilize territory because it does not adequately educate active-duty officers to do so. One way to professionalize the Army’s ability to carry out military government and stability operations is to develop active-duty functional area officers who can advise commanders and integrate staff planning for these operations. This article analyzes case studies, doctrine, and commentary to envision specialized staff officers with foreign language proficiency, cultural skills, advanced academic abilities, and a strong professional ethic. These officers would enhance the Army’s competence in stabilizing territory to achieve American policy objectives
Book Review: John J. Pershing and the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I, 1917–1919: April 7-September 30, Volume 1
Get PDFEditor: John T. Greenwood
Reviewed by Dr. Nathan K. Finney, lieutenant colonel, US Army, Indo-Pacific Command, founder of The Strategy Bridge and the Military Writers Guild
Thoroughly researched and cited, this first volume in an anticipated eight-book series covers the first five months of World War I. The book includes maps, photographs, and is indexed for ease of use.https://press.armywarcollege.edu/parameters_bookshelf/1007/thumbnail.jp
Change and Innovation in the Institutional Army from 1860–2020
Get PDFThis article showcases the understudied institutional Army, the generating force, as a critical prerequisite for overall strategic success. Competition, crisis, and conflict require more than the manned, trained, and equipped units that deploy. This article analyzes six case studies of institutional Army reforms over 160 years to examine adaptation in peace and war. The conclusions provide historical insights to inform current practices and fulfill the Army’s articulated 2022 Institutional Strategy