Interservice Rivalry In The Cold War

Throughout the mid chapters we see the introduction of the great world wars. Even though the United States wanted to remain neutral, 18 months later after the war had started, over 2 million troops had been sent overseas to Europe, including the Navy and the Marine Corps. After WWI, we see a lot of naval disarmament and isolation in the country. Shortly after in 1940, the United States military entered in war again after the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese. The victory of this war was accomplished by one of the most significant advances of military history, the use of atomic bombs. After WWII, the military participated into what was called the “Cold war Era” with the Soviet Union. From 1945-1991, the United States provided military support for war against the Soviet Union. During this period we see new navy innovations such as the introduction of

The military has been instrumental in the protection and development of U.S interests around the world. From the Revolutionary War, which established the United States as a nation, through the World Wars, which set up the U.S as one of the world super powers, to its current war on terror, the military has helped and protected U.S. interests around the world. During all these wars American soldiers have proudly served their country. Because of these wars America is famous throughout the world for military power and its protection of freedom in the world. Today the U.S is an international symbol of wealth and power; it has the largest Gross Domestic Product in the world as well as the strongest military. Yet even America falls prey to a

Daisaku Ikeda, a spiritual leader for Japan once commented, ‘Japan learned from the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that tragedy wrought by nuclear weapons must never be repeated and that humanity and nuclear weapons cannot coexist.’ The world has experienced the bombings of Japan, of Pearl Harbor and the conflict of the Cold War, but even with these conflicts present in our history, warning us of the effects, these meaning have not carried through into society today. Currently in the Middle East, we are witnessing the elements of a modern day cold war starting to appear. Israel and Iran have been in arguments and disagreements about nuclear weaponry since 2012. Their different religious view and ideologies has flourished into more than a religious tension but that of a modern day cold way.

Consequently, the Obama Administration has silenced defense leader for a long time, so he could keep his Budget Control Act or (BCA). For example “8 years under the Obama Administration, top defense officials were largely silenced and prevented from articulating their concerns about budget cuts and decreased readiness”(Cooper pg1). The Obama Administration neglected top defense officials, which has resulted in “Army has lost more than 205,000 soldiers, or 30 percent of its staff”(Spencer). Nevertheless, this has also resulted in “3 of 58 Army brigade combat teams are considered ready for combat”(Cooper). Conversely, Obama cut down the military so far that America has 150,000-225,000 troops ready in the Army when all of our combat teams should be ready for combat, so that the armed forces can protect America’s interests at home and abroad. Moreover, the Army is not the only who has experienced decreased readiness, for example, there have been budget cuts across the board which have resulted in “The Air Force is the smallest and oldest it has ever been”(Cooper). “80 percent of the United States Marine Corps or (USMC) do not have the minimum number of aircraft they need for training and basic operations”(Cooper). “The Navy’s fleet is the smallest it has been in nearly 100 years”(Cooper). “Maintenance period will increase costs 2.6 times”(Pickup). Accordingly, all parts of the Armed forces have experienced budget cuts

Also to reorganize the nation's military and national security system with the National Security Act in 1947 which unified the Army, Navy, and Air Force under a National Military Establishment lead by the Secretary of Defense. The National Security Act also created the Central Intelligence Agency, the nation’s major department of intelligence. The Act established the National Security Council to enlighten the President on issues mostly related to American foreign policy as well. Though the National Security Council had many improvements to make, it was able to grow in power and prestige through the involvement in the Korean War. And through the past decades it has become of great use to American foreign policy (“Foreign Affairs”).

The Cold War was a significant time for the United States and the Soviet Union, while the rest of the world watched intently. Although no actual war took place, both of these powerful countries did their best to promote their political and ideological ideas while trying to gain some ground in the seemingly never ending arms race. This war was driven by both fear and the strive to become the strongest and most powerful country. During the time of the Cold War, the United States proved to be a strong influence over Canada. Given its location, it was obvious as to which side Canada was on. While Canada believed in the same ideologies as the US, this nation was still reluctant to fully emerge themselves into the hysteria that had been emerging in the US. However, even though Canada had just received world recognition for its contribution during the Second World War, this large yet acutely populated country had much still to prove. During this time, Canada just recently became a founding member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). But while Canada was making huge steps in their peacekeeping and military growth, there were still rumours of espionage circling the country.

The National Security Act of 1947 later became the primary law for foreign policy and the nation’s intelligence agency. Stevenson writes, “It was crafted as a means to impose restraints on military spending, yet it provided the framework for the Cold War military buildup.” The National Security Act of 1947 caused somewhat of hardship on the armed forces, Army continued to suffer cutbacks, Air Force became its own branch, Navy was able to keep all aircraft and Marine Corp was completely protected by the NSA but the law was changed in

In a 2015 article, “Is U.S. military becoming outdated?” written by Stuart Bradin, Keenan Yoho, and Meaghan Keeler-Pettigrew, the authors argued that despite the U.S. military maintaining a position of global dominance “without peer” during conventional operations, it is not the ideal force against current and future threats. The authors claim that there are several negative factors arising due to the past sixteen years of war against several state and non-state elements, inferior cultural differences of government bureaucracy compared to commercial firms, and a misallocation of defense spending that leaves the US military waging war inefficiently while simultaneously losing technological dominance against current and future threats.

From the time when the first English colonies were established in North America until now, there has been some form of armed fighting force in place to protect the interests of the United States and its colonial progenitors. During the roughly four centuries in which this fighting force has existed, it has undergone numerous changes of varying degrees of significance. Technological advances have changed the nature of both defensive and offensive warfare, political advances have changed the nature of the relationship between the civilian population and its protectors, and geostrategic shifts have changed the role of the United States military with respect to the rest of the world. The most lasting and meaningful changes have occurred

After unraveling of the Soviet Union and the collapse of the Berlin Wall, fears of war breaking out between the major powers of the United States and the Soviet Union were greatly reduced. Numerous commentaries, reports, and studies arose out of the question of what to do with the excess U.S. forces, and how to reshape them for a new era (Snider & Carlton-Carew, 1996). Since the birth of the United States, the military has been an important part of the United States. The US military has been a fundamental part of foreign policy, including fostering democracy, establishing rule of law, and assisting with economic development in territories allied with the U.S. (Ludema, 2007).

In regards to American history, the creation of a politically neutral military began to form predominantly after the end of the American Civil War in 1865. Before the Post-Civil War era, the military had a strong

During this last half of the twentieth century the US military was under siege from all sides, internal and external. The root cause of this situation can be traced back to Vietnam and the governments lack of true commitment. What resulted was the near destruction of the US military. The military managed to come out in the end to become perhaps the best military in the world by completely reevaluating itself and reorganizing almost every aspect . The primary focus will be on the reorganization of the Army and Air force, and how they were affected by the disaster of Vietnam. The US military managed to come out one top through completely reorganizing the way the military works and thinks. Focusing

The National Security Act signed into law on July 26, 1947 (University). This Act created a number of new structures; a National Security Council (NSC), a Department of Defense, a Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), and a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) (University). The military was reorganized as well the U.S. Air force was recognized as an independent entity form the Army but the Navy retained its own aviation force and prevented the Marines from being absorbed by the Army (University). This Act unified the country’s national security institutions as well as provides military leaders as well as the President of the U.S. with the most current and up-to-date information needed to make informed decisions on the state of affairs of the nation in regards to other countries (University). The

Robert McNamara directed a disastrous, failed war that was very costly. He visioned an “active management” approcah. He wanted a Pentagon where the secretary would have his own large staff that would provide civilian advice. This advice would only allow the secretary to be the only one able to assess alternatives. This would also allow him to be the only one making choices when it comes to defining budgets, foreign policy, military strategy, and integrating forces and weapons. Budgets in the 50s were done by services instead of missions and used estimates that had an unclear validity. There was no way that duplication nor functional gaps could be identified. Concerns arose from discrepancies about the defense posture on whether it had rational basis for the allocation of resources. McNamara also proposed a system analysis that calculated the defense needs, but it had its limits. The military was caught off guard with this and programs that he did not agree with were seen as not to be cost-effective. McNamara’s agenda also included acquisition reforms. This

I like your analysis and particularly the highlight of the questions related to the Goldwater-Nichols Act (GNA). It was very interesting that the SASC begun with these questions which led me to the additional research on this subject. As a result, I found an interesting article written by James R. Locher III examining CMR issues raised in the GNA. Locher argues that by the early 1980s, DoD had very ineffective strategic planning, senior military leaders were providing inadequate advise to the political leadership, individual services did not understand joint interests and they were challenging operational chain of command especially the role of the SecDef, and senior leaders assigned to the joint duty assignments were inadequately prepared