Making an Army Change
Abstract
Why the rush to change our Army? Was this decision truly the rational act of a visionary responding quickly to the future as he sees it, or was it fueled and hurried by the process of governmental politics? I contend that it was more the latter. In this paper I will explore and analyze three important aspects of the national security process that influenced the new Army Chief of Staff, GEN Shinseki, to make the decision to start now, and not later, to fundamentally change the Army from a heavy-weight force to a lighter, more deployable, and more lethal medium-weight force. 1. The Influence of Congress and the Power of the Purse. What were senators and congressman telling the Army? What was the funding outlook? 2. The Role of Inter-Service Competition for Missions and Legitimacy. Is the traditional fight between services reaching a crescendo over limited defense funds and who should be called upon first by the Nation? 3. The Timing of the 2001 Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) and 2000 Elections. Did these two upcoming events fuel the drive to change now? Was the window of opportunity closing?
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2000
- Accession Number
- ADA432204
Entities
People
- James E. Knauff Jr
Organizations
- National War College