The Citizen-Soldier Concept: Romantic Tradition to Pragmatic Exigency.

Abstract

The citizen soldier has been a mainstay of military power since the earliest European settlement in what is today the United States. Current demands on the citizen soldier are greater than ever. Military operations are faster, more frequent, more varied, and more demanding. The citizen soldier concept is a romantic tradition that has lost some of its romance as it has become more essential to support a National Military Strategy of Flexible and Selective Engagement. This paper traces the activation of the United States Army Reserve medical soldiers in Operation Joint Endeavor to illustrate the citizen soldiers' evolving role. Challenges that face today's citizen soldiers are identified and changes are suggested to update the citizen soldier concept.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 14, 1997
Accession Number
ADA326589

Entities

People

  • John M. Graham

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Active Duty
  • Department Of Defense
  • Governments
  • Medical Personnel
  • Military History
  • Military Operations
  • Military Science
  • Military Strategy
  • Militia
  • National Guard
  • National Security
  • Physicians
  • Training
  • United States
  • United States European Command
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.
  • Military Mobilization and Reserve Forces Studies.
  • Systems Analysis and Design