Since the Vietnam era, the relations between the American armed forces and the society they serve have been well documented. After the establishment of the All-Volunteer Force, military professionalism strengthened in all of the services, defense organizations did adapt to changing needs despite service parochialism, and the interactions between military leaders and political leaders were generally within the scope of American traditions. Then, during the 1980's, society's demands for remarkable changes in soldier demographics (e.g., women in combat units, gays in the military, etc.) and the sudden end of the Cold War in 1989, caused American civil-military relations to fray and tensions to abound. These tensions have continued right through the events surrounding 9/11 to the present, e.g., to the arguments over the conduct of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the reauthorization of the Patriot Act and the size of the U.S. Army. In this "long war" context, where the missions assigned the Armed Forces are so different from the recent past, where the demands on the professional Army officer and the profession of arms contrast so sharply with those of most in American society, we will use an interdisciplinary approach to sort out the norms for America's current and future Civil-Military Relations.
Lessons
40 @ 55 min (2.500 Att/wk)
Labs
0 @ 0 min
Special requirements
One major research paper; compensatory time provided.
