In 1961, the new Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara directed a joint aircraft acquisition program called the TFX, which would produce the first common aerial platform for multiple services. The resulting drama, subterfuge and resistance by the...
The end of the Cold War did not bring about the grand peace that was hoped for during four decades. Instead, the world has become more dangerous, with multiple complex problems. Military institutions worldwide must learn to adapt to the...
The quality of the relationship between military commanders, senior government officials, and the head of state greatly influences the effectiveness of military force employment. Samuel Huntington explored this phenomenon, among others, in his...
The US Army has a history of constant evolution and transformation. At times the transformation was ordered and efficient and at other times it has been an example of chaos. The effective modern leader charged with transformation of an organization...
During Operation Rolling Thunder, Carrier Air Wing 16 suffered the highest loss rates of any unit in naval aviation during the Vietnam conflict. During three separate cruises on the USS Oriskany (CVA-34), the air wing was continually plagued with...
This monograph analyzes the effectiveness of operational campaign design during the initial US ground combat in the Vietnam War. The focus is on the linkage of national strategic ends with military means and ways from the Spring of 1965 through the...
This document is the first of two volumes that examine the Vietnam conflict from the perspective of the theater commander and his headquarters. It traces the story of the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV), from its establishment in...
This monograph examined three of the variables that impact the civil-military relationship with regard to understanding how military advice is received by civilian leadership -- combat military experience of civilian leaders, political expertise of...
Successful civil-military relations pose an enduring dilemma for the professional officer. When civil-military relations fail, the negative implications are far reaching. Professional officers who understand their role within the structure...
Office of the Chief of Military History, Department of the Army
The following historical monograph is a revised version of the earlier "U.S. Army expansion and readiness, 1961-1962," distributed in September 1962. Topics of this document include the development of an expansion program to meet the Berlin crisis,...
This study examines the evolution of the public affairs function within the United States federal government. The study examines in detail the development of public affairs within the Department of Defense from the time of the National Security Act...
The information revolution seems to hold a lot of promise to the U.S. economy and the U.S. military, but rigid bureaucratic hierarchies make it extremely difficult for effective integration of operational fires and information operations (IO). As...
MACV: The Joint Command in the Years of Withdrawal, 1968--1973, is the second of two volumes that examine the Vietnam conflict from the perspective of the theater commander and his headquarters. It traces the story of the Military Assistance...
The study examines the military worth of the Unified Logistics Command concept as proposed by the Blue Ribbon Defense Panel in July 1970. To establish a frame of reference, the author establishes an overview of the scope and complexity of defense...
The primary question this thesis aims to answer is--did the Studies and Observation Group (SOG) covert and clandestine operations contribute significantly to the Vietnam War effort? The scope of research is an examination of SOG operations...
Force Design is the process of designing the organization of army units. The process involves building unit structures, including combat support and combat service support capabilities, and then validating those structures through testing and...
This study investigates strategic intelligence failures of the pre-Vietnam and pre-9/11 time periods. The monograph presents PEMISI (political, economic, military, information, societal, and intelligence) environmental analyses of both time periods...
General Abrams presents a sound historical example of the practical application of operational art as viewed through the lens of the Army Design Methodology. When General Abrams' assumed command of Military Assistance Command Vietnam (MACV), he was...
This study focuses on tactical airpower in south Vietnam between 1961-1968. Some of the issues examined are command and control of airpower, the use of airpower at the tactical and the operational-strategic level of war, the role of helicopters,...