Reimagining America’s professional all-volunteer army
APA Citation:
Dubik, J. M., & Magruder, L. W. (2023). Reimagining America’s professional all-volunteer army. Military Review. https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Journals/Military-Review/English-Edition-Archives/September-October-2023/All-Volunteer-Army/
Focus:
Programming
Branch of Service:
Army
Military Affiliation:
Active Duty
Subject Affiliation:
Active duty service member
Population:
Adulthood (18 yrs & older)
Young adulthood (18 - 29 yrs)
Thirties (30 - 39 yrs)
Middle age (40 - 64 yrs)
Authors:
Dubik, James M., Magruder, Lawson W.
Abstract:
Today’s senior civilian and military Army leaders face a challenge, different from but as complex and pressing as the one their post-Vietnam predecessors tackled: What should America’s Army look like? During the Vietnam War, the United States relied on the deeply unpopular draft. By the early 1970s, social, political, economic, technological, and strategic conditions within the United States converged, leading to the conclusion that America needed a professional volunteer force. Both adjectives are important. The force created at the end of the Vietnam War became volunteer, but it took years to evolve into the professional Army that fought the First Gulf War. That Army has served the Nation well. However, conditions have changed significantly since the end of the Cold War and the winding down of America’s post-9/11 wars. Now the Nation is in a multipolar, great-power period, and it is time to reexamine, perhaps even reimagine, the relationship between America’s Army—Active, Guard, and Reserve—and the contextual conditions that shape it. The professional volunteer Army emerged fifty years ago, and since then, contextual conditions have changed; as a result, there are major issues senior leaders face today.
Publisher/Sponsoring Organization:
Military Review
Publication Type:
Research and technical reports
Keywords:
volunteer Army