The Modern American Military

David M Kennedy editor

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Oxford University Press Inc

Published:14th May '15

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The Modern American Military cover

The advent of the all-volunteer force and the evolving nature of modern warfare have transformed our military, changing it in serious if subtle ways that few Americans are aware of. Edited by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David M. Kennedy, this stimulating volume brings together insights from a remarkable group of scholars, who shed important new light on the changes effecting today's armed forces. Beginning with a Foreword by former Secretary of Defense William J. Perry, the contributors take an historical approach as they explore the ever-changing strategic, political, and fiscal contexts in which the armed forces are trained and deployed, and the constantly shifting objectives that they are tasked to achieve in the post-9/11 environment. They also offer strong points of view. Lawrence Freedman, for instance, takes the leadership to task for uncritically embracing the high-tech Revolution in Military Affairs when "conventional" warfare seems increasingly unlikely. And eminent psychiatrist Jonathan Shay warns that the post-battle effects of what he terms "moral wounds" currently receive inadequate attention from the military and the medical profession. Perhaps most troubling, Karl Eikenberry raises the issue of the "political ownership" of the military in an era of all-volunteer service, citing the argument that, absent the political protest common to the draft era, government decision-makers felt free to carry out military operations in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Andrew Bacevich goes further, writing that "it's no longer our army; it hasn't been for years; it's theirs [the government's] and they intend to keep it." Looking at such issues as who serves and why, the impact of non-uniformed "contractors" in the war zone, and the growing role of women in combat, this volume brings together leading thinkers who illuminate the American military at the beginning of the twenty-first century.

Academic yet accessible, this volume offers thoughtful and occasionally disturbing insights into the workings of the world's most powerful war machine. * Publishers Weekly *
The world has changed dramatically for the American military in recent years. The volunteer army, re-examined in this book, has seen increased media scrutiny, questions arising from the use of contractors in war zones, and-of course-new technologies like remotely piloted aircraft that have dramatically changed the nature of warfare. And yet there are few scholarly works that look comprehensively at the challenges that the armed forces face and the responses that are required. The thoughtful essays in David Kennedy's new book explore this uniquely American institution both through the lens of history and current circumstances. We owe it to our servicemen and women and to those who command them to examine critically and debate the state of military affairs. This book is a significant contribution to that cause."-Condoleezza Rice, former Secretary of State
The Modern American Military is essential reading. It brightly illuminates how profoundly the armed services have changed with the advent of new enemies, new weapons, new doctrines and a new generation of volunteer forces. Equally important, it insightfully shows how those changes are reshaping the critical relationship between the American military and American society.”-Philip Taubman, former New York Times Washington bureau chief, consulting professor at Stanford University and author of The Partnership, Five Cold Warriors and Their Quest to Ban the Bomb
A collection of incisive and controversial essays covering matters as diverse - and essential - as military culture and technology, contracting and doctrine, this is a book for anyone interested in the armed forces of what remains the most powerful country on earth."-Eliot A. Cohen, Robert E. Osgood Professor of Strategic Studies, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies

ISBN: 9780190230906

Dimensions: 155mm x 231mm x 25mm

Weight: 454g

352 pages