Drawdown: The American Way of Postwar

Published by New York University Press 2016

Drawdown

The American Way of Postwar

Edited by: Jason W. Warren

Volume 8 in the series Warfare and Culture

https://doi.org/10.18574/nyu/9781479860715.001.0001

Overview
Contents

About this book

Analyzes the cultural attitudes, political decisions, and institutions surrounding the maintenance of armed forces throughout American history

While traditionally, Americans view expensive military structure as a poor investment and a threat to liberty, they also require a guarantee of that very freedom, necessitating the employment of armed forces. Beginning with the seventeenth-century wars of the English colonies, Americans typically increased their military capabilities at the beginning of conflicts only to decrease them at the apparent conclusion of hostilities. In Drawdown: The American Way of Postwar, a stellar team of military historians argue that the United States sometimes managed effective drawdowns, sowing the seeds of future victory that Americans eventually reaped. Yet at other times, the drawing down of military capabilities undermined our readiness and flexibility, leading to more costly wars and perhaps defeat. The political choice to reduce military capabilities is influenced by Anglo-American pecuniary decisions and traditional fears of government oppression, and it has been haphazard at best throughout American history. These two factors form the basic American “liberty dilemma,” the vexed relationship between the nation and its military apparatuses from the founding of the first colonies through to present times.

With the termination of large-scale operations in Iraq and the winnowing of forces in Afghanistan, the United States military once again faces a significant drawdown in standing force structure and capabilities. The political and military debate currently raging around how best to affect this force reduction continues to lack a proper historical perspective. This volume aspires to inform this dialogue. Not a traditional military history, Drawdown analyzes cultural attitudes, political decisions, and institutions surrounding the maintenance of armed forces.

Author / Editor information

Warren Jason W. :

Major Jason W. Warren is Assistant Professor of History at the U.S. Army War College. He is the author of Connecticut Unscathed: Victory in the Great Narragansett War, 1675-1676.

Reviews

Overall, the editor did a fine job of compiling the essays presented in this book. All are well-written, provide much to think about, and are supported by excellent documentation. This book should be read by all those interested in the management of the U.S. Army.

Ricardo Herrera,author of For Liberty and the Republic: The American Citizen as Soldier, 1775-1861:
Positioned to provoke thought on the present U.S. military force reductions. . . . Coming on the heels of the so-called conclusion of the United States wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, this work will, I hope, provoke serious thought, discussion, and a greater maturity in considering the current environment.

General H.R. McMaster,author of Dereliction of Duty:
In Drawdown, the contributors explain how and why America, despite repeated lessons, failed to sustain ready military forces in sufficient scale to secure the nation. Jason Warren has pulled together well-researched and accessible essays that shed light and understanding on the cultural, political, strategic, and financial causes of unpreparedness. Breaking the cycle of unpreparedness in an era of increasing security risk requires historical understanding. Making the most out of the resources available to secure our nation and vital interests requires imaginative military and civilian leadership. Drawdowndelivers the former and helps cultivate the latter.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Foreword Peter Mansoor Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
Acknowledgments Publicly Available Download PDF	xiii
Introduction: The American Way of Postwar: The Liberty Dilemma Michael E. Lynch Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Part I Building the American Military Ideal
1 The Art of War: Early Anglo-American Translation, 1607–1643 Kevin McBride and Ashley Bissonnette Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	27
2 Liberty Paradox: The Failure of the Military System in Mid-Seventeenth- Century New England Jason W. Warren Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	52
3 Surprisingly Professional: Trajectories in Army Officer Corps Drawdowns, 1783–1848 Samuel Watson Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	73
Part II Managing Industrial-Era Warfare
4 Challenged Competency: U.S. Cavalry before, during, and after the U.S. Civil War John A. Bonin Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	109
5 The Elusive Lesson: U.S. Army Unpreparedness from 1898 to 1938 Edward A. Gutiérrez and Michael S. Neiberg Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	137
6 When the Smoke Clears: The Interwar Years as an Unlikely Success Story Michael R. Matheny Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	155
Part III Conceptualizing Cold War Framework
7 Searching for the Greatest Generation’s Army in 1950 Scott Bertinetti and John A. Bonin Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	175
8 The Post–Korean War Drawdown under the Eisenhower Administration Raymond Millen Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	190
9 Once Again with the High and the Mighty “New Look” Austerity, “Flexible Response” Buildup, and the U.S. Army in Vietnam, 1954–1970 Martin G. Clemis Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	208
Part IV Searching for a New Paradigm
10 Post-Vietnam Drawdown: The Myth of the Abrams Doctrine Conrad C. Crane Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	241
11 The “Good” Drawdown: The Post-Vietnam Alignment of Resources Antulio J. Echevarria Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	253
12 Preaching after the Devil’s Death: U.S. Post–Cold War Drawdown Richard A. Lacquement Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	267
Epilogue Kevin W. Farrell Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	291
About the Contributors Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	295
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	299

Language: English
Publisher: New York University Press
Audience: Professional and scholarly;

eBook

Published: October 18, 2016
ISBN: 9781479860715