The Armed Forces and American Social Change

The Armed Forces and American Social Change
Author: Troy Mosley
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 262
Release: 2021-10-04
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0761872523

UnwrittenTruce is a powerful depiction of Black Americans’ struggle for equality told through the lens of uniformed military service. Mosley uses superb story-telling, personal vignettes, and historical examples to show how millions of Americans have lifted themselves from oppression through opportunities gleaned from military service. Collectively these efforts exerted positive outward pressure on American society and by in large has resisted all forms of social change. One of the unique aspects of combat is that rarely are Americans more equal than when thrust into harms way. It has been said there are no atheists in combat; similarly, racism, sexism, and homophobia quickly go by the wayside when under enemy fire.Yet in the 19th century and well into the 21st century, America’s military policies regarding the use of manpower could best be described as an awkward attempt to balance the requirement to win the nation’s wars while supporting a socio-political caste system. President Harry Truman signed Executive Order 9981 on July 26, 1948 in response to police violence perpetrated against Black veterans. His actions broke this trend and set the military on the path to true meritocracy. Today, retired general Lloyd Austin is the first black American Secretary of Defense in part due to the barriers broken down by men and women who served before him. The armed services fiercely resisted integration, gender equality, and LGBTQ equality but over time have grown to value America’s well spring of diversity as a strategic and operational advantage. Under the Trump administration many of the military’s policies supporting transgender inclusion were reversed, making the U.S. military one of many institutions caught in the ideological tug of war regarding social change, which is at the heart of the present day American polarization. For as far as America has come, we still have work to do for Truman’s vision of equality of opportunity to become a reality for all Americans. Join this thought-provoking narrative that celebrates the brave American military pioneers and challenges us all to continue the push for a better expression of America.

Integrating the US Military

Integrating the US Military
Author: Douglas Walter Bristol
Publisher: JHU Press
Total Pages: 263
Release: 2017-05
Genre: History
ISBN: 1421422476

"Integrating the US Military is an edited collection that examines the US Army's role and place in progressive social change through the lens of the military experience of African Americans, women, and gays since World War II. By making this long overdue comparison, the editors argue this anthology demonstrates how the challenges launched against the racial, gender, and sexual status quo in the years after World War II transformed overarching ideas about power, citizenship, and America's role in the world. This anthology's major contribution is synthesizing recent scholarly work on the history of minorities and women in the US military. It does so by examining connections between GIs and civilian society in the context of ideologies of race, gender, and sexuality. Given the militarization of American society since World War II, revealing the links between these legally marginalized groups within the Armed Services is historically significant in its own right. At the same time, this comparison also sheds new light on a broad range of issues that affected civilian society, such as affirmative action, integration, marriage laws, and sexual harassment. Integrating the US Military is a book designed for college students, military professionals, policy makers, and general readers. Allowing readers to view the history of several civil rights movements within the Armed Forces will prompt them to rethink the way they understand the history of social movements. It will also help them to better understand the relationship between the military and American society. Finally, readers will gain a historical perspective on recent debates about the rights of gays in the military and the implications of deploying women in combat."--Provided by publisher.

Revolutionary Social Change in Colombia

Revolutionary Social Change in Colombia
Author: James J. Brittain
Publisher: Pluto Press
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2010-01-15
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9780745328751

This book presents an insider's account of Columbia's internal conflict. At the forefront are the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People's Army (FARC-EP). Although they are one of the most powerful military forces in Latin American history, little is known about the FARC-EP. James J. Brittain explains where and why this political military movement came into existence and assesses whether the methods employed by the insurgency have the potential to free those marginalised in Colombia. As democratic socialism develops in Venezuela and Bolivia, Brittain's fascinating study assesses the relevance of armed struggle to 21st century Latin American politics. This is an essential title for those wishing to develop a full understanding of the continent.

Strengthening the Military Family Readiness System for a Changing American Society

Strengthening the Military Family Readiness System for a Changing American Society
Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 385
Release: 2019-10-25
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0309489539

The U.S. military has been continuously engaged in foreign conflicts for over two decades. The strains that these deployments, the associated increases in operational tempo, and the general challenges of military life affect not only service members but also the people who depend on them and who support them as they support the nation â€" their families. Family members provide support to service members while they serve or when they have difficulties; family problems can interfere with the ability of service members to deploy or remain in theater; and family members are central influences on whether members continue to serve. In addition, rising family diversity and complexity will likely increase the difficulty of creating military policies, programs and practices that adequately support families in the performance of military duties. Strengthening the Military Family Readiness System for a Changing American Society examines the challenges and opportunities facing military families and what is known about effective strategies for supporting and protecting military children and families, as well as lessons to be learned from these experiences. This report offers recommendations regarding what is needed to strengthen the support system for military families.

The Armed Forces Officer

The Armed Forces Officer
Author: U.S. Department of Defense
Publisher: Potomac Books, Inc.
Total Pages: 184
Release: 2007-05
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1597971669

An ethics handbook for a profession unlike any other

The Oxford Handbook of War

The Oxford Handbook of War
Author: Julian Lindley-French
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Total Pages: 736
Release: 2012-01-19
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0191628409

The Oxford Handbook of War is the definitive analysis of war in the twenty-first century. With over forty senior authors from academia, government and the armed forces world-wide the Handbook explores the history, theory, ethics and practice of war. The Handbook first considers the fundamental causes of war, before reflecting on the moral and legal aspects of war. Theories on the practice of war lead into an analysis of the strategic conduct of war and non Western ways of war. The heart of the Handbook is a compelling analysis of the military conduct of war which is juxtaposed with consideration of technology, economy, industry, and war. In conclusion the volume looks to the future of this apparently perennial feature of human interaction.

Lost Battalions

Lost Battalions
Author: Richard Slotkin
Publisher: Macmillan + ORM
Total Pages: 863
Release: 2013-12-24
Genre: History
ISBN: 1466860936

"A work of stunning density and penetrating analysis . . . Lost Battalions deploys a narrative symmetry of gratifying complexity."—David Levering Lewis, The Nation During the bloodiest days of World War I, no soldiers served more valiantly than the African American troops of the 369th Infantry—the fabled Harlem Hellfighters—and the legendary 77th "lost battalion" composed of New York City immigrants. Though these men had lived up to their side of the bargain as loyal American soldiers, the country to which they returned solidified laws and patterns of social behavior that had stigmatized them as second-class citizens. Richard Slotkin takes the pulse of a nation struggling with social inequality during a decisive historical moment, juxtaposing social commentary with battle scenes that display the bravery and solidarity of these men. Enduring grueling maneuvers, and the loss of so many of their brethren, the soldiers in the lost battalions were forever bound by their wartime experience. Both a riveting combat narrative and a brilliant social history, Lost Battalions delivers a richly detailed account of the fierce fight for equality in the shadow of a foreign war.

The Armed Forces Officer

The Armed Forces Officer
Author: Richard Moody Swain
Publisher: Government Printing Office
Total Pages: 216
Release: 2017
Genre: Study Aids
ISBN: 9780160937583

In 1950, when he commissioned the first edition of The Armed Forces Officer, Secretary of Defense George C. Marshall told its author, S.L.A. Marshall, that "American military officers, of whatever service, should share common ground ethically and morally." In this new edition, the authors methodically explore that common ground, reflecting on the basics of the Profession of Arms, and the officer's special place and distinctive obligations within that profession and especially to the Constitution.

Military Enterprise and Technological Change

Military Enterprise and Technological Change
Author: Merritt Roe Smith
Publisher: MIT Press
Total Pages: 414
Release: 1985
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780262192392

In this book, historians of technology bring their special expertise to probing the influence of the military on technological development over a broad range of history and in a variety of cases.

Enlisting Faith

Enlisting Faith
Author: Ronit Y. Stahl
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 385
Release: 2017-11-06
Genre: History
ISBN: 0674981316

A century ago, as the United States prepared to enter World War I, the military chaplaincy included only mainline Protestants and Catholics. Today it counts Jews, Mormons, Muslims, Christian Scientists, Buddhists, Seventh-day Adventists, Hindus, and evangelicals among its ranks. Enlisting Faith traces the uneven processes through which the military struggled with, encouraged, and regulated religious pluralism over the twentieth century. Moving from the battlefields of Europe to the jungles of Vietnam and between the forests of Civilian Conservation Corps camps and meetings in government offices, Ronit Y. Stahl reveals how the military borrowed from and battled religion. Just as the state relied on religion to sanction war and sanctify death, so too did religious groups seek recognition as American faiths. At times the state used religion to advance imperial goals. But religious citizens pushed back, challenging the state to uphold constitutional promises and moral standards. Despite the constitutional separation of church and state, the federal government authorized and managed religion in the military. The chaplaincy demonstrates how state leaders scrambled to handle the nation’s deep religious, racial, and political complexities. While officials debated which clergy could serve, what insignia they would wear, and what religions appeared on dog tags, chaplains led worship for a range of faiths, navigated questions of conscience, struggled with discrimination, and confronted untimely death. Enlisting Faith is a vivid portrayal of religious encounters, state regulation, and the trials of faith—in God and country—experienced by the millions of Americans who fought in and with the armed forces.