1 online resource (xxxi, 800 pages) :

"As U.S. military forces appear overcommitted and some ponder a possible return to the draft, the timing is ideal for a review of how the American military transformed itself over the past five decades, from a poorly disciplined force of conscripts and draft-motivated "volunteers" to a force of professionals revered throughout the world. Starting in the early 1960s, this account runs through the current war in Iraq, with alternating chapters on the history of the all-volunteer force and the analytic background that supported decisionmaking. The author participated as an analyst and government policymaker in many of the events covered in this book. His insider status and access offer a behind-the-scenes look at decisionmaking within the Pentagon and White House. The book includes a foreword by former Secretary of Defense Melvin R. Laird. The accompanying DVD contains more than 1,700 primary-source documents -- government memoranda, Presidential memos and letters, staff papers, and reports -- linked directly from citations in the electronic version of the book. This unique technology presents a treasure trove of materials for specialists, researchers, and students of military history, public administration, and government affairs to draw upon."--Publisher's website

Includes bibliographical references and index

What have we done?: a summary of then and now (1960-2006) -- The coming of the all-volunteer force (1960-1968) -- The coming of the all-volunteer force: analytic studies (1960-1968) -- The president's commission on an all-volunteer armed force -- the Gates Commission -- and selective service reform (1969-1970) -- The studies of the all-volunteer armed force (1969-1970) -- The Pentagon's response: the Laird and Kelley years (1969-1972) -- Analytic studies during the initial transition period (1969-1972) -- Looking toward the future: a new research agenda (1969-1972) -- The second inning (1973-1976) -- The second inning: analytic studies (1973-1976) -- The Carter years: the all-volunteer force in distress (1977-1980) -- The selective service sideshow (1979-1980) -- The Carter years: analytic studies (1977-1980) -- Sustaining the all-volunteer force: the Reagan-Bush years (1981-1992) -- The role of women in the all-volunteer force -- The Reagan-Bush years: analytic studies (1981-1992) -- Pax Americana and the new world order: the Clinton and Bush years (1992-2004) -- Reaping what you sow: analytic studies of the Clinton and Bush years (1992-2004) -- Why has the all-volunteer force been a success?

Print version record

Electronic reproduction. [Place of publication not identified] : HathiTrust Digital Library

Master and use copy. Digital master created according to Benchmark for Faithful Digital Reproductions of Monographs and Serials, Version 1. Digital Library Federation, December 2002

digitized 2010