Interservice Rivalry in Action. The Endless Roles and Missions Refrain
Abstract
Refrain has two meanings. As a noun, it means a regularly recurring phrase or stanza or an oral repetition. As a verb, it means to defer action, to restrain oneself from doing something. Both the noun and verb forms may apply to the capstone activity of interservice rivalry: debates over roles and missions. This article illuminates and explores what may become a central issue of the upcoming and first refrain (the Quadrennial Strategy Review), some surrounding issues, and the range of likely outcomes of such a process. The central issue in the roles and missions debates of the recent past has been the role of air and space forces in the future, and that issue will remain pivotal in any review to come. At least two possibilities exist for such a review. A strategy review, should it become enshrined as a permanently recurring process, promises to accomplish little beyond making the refrain of endless, prolonged, and low-level debate the theme song of the military services. The four major services likely see the first case, which continues a tradition of dodging contentious issues whenever possible, as the more benign one. The second possibility is that the first review may step up to the responsibility of examining our strategy, national security processes, the number and structure of the unified commands, and our entire armed forces in the harsh light of the post-cold-war, post-Desert Storm world. The results could be dramatic.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1996
- Accession Number
- ADA529571
Entities
People
- Richard Szafranski
Organizations
- Air University