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Books > Social sciences > Warfare & defence > Military life & institutions > General
In recent years, Civil War veterans have emerged from historical obscurity. Inspired by recent interest in memory studies and energised by the ongoing neorevisionist turn, a vibrant new literature has given the lie to the once-obligatory lament that the postbellum lives of Civil War soldiers were irretrievable. Despite this flood of historical scholarship, fundamental questions about the essential character of Civil War veteranhood remain unanswered. Moreover, because work on veterans has often proceeded from a preoccupation with cultural memory, the Civil War's ex-soldiers have typically been analysed as either symbols or producers of texts. In The War Went On: Reconsidering the Lives of Civil War Veterans, fifteen of the field's top scholars provide a more nuanced and intimate look at the lives and experiences of these former soldiers. Essays in this collection approach Civil War veterans from oblique angles, including theater, political, and disability history, as well as borderlands and memory studies. Contributors examine the lives of Union and Confederate veterans, African American veterans, former prisoners of war, amputees, and ex-guerrilla fighters. They also consider postwar political elections, veterans' business dealings, and even literary contests between onetime enemies and among former comrades.
This book examines the historic role of professional and demanding military customers in industrial development. Particular emphasis is paid to public procurement of military equipment as a catalyst for innovation; and the civilian commercialization of military technologies (from gunpowder and cannons to submarines, missiles and aircraft) is documented by many case illustrations that show how macro-level productivity advance has been generated. A complementary volume to Advancing Public Procurement as Industrial Policy (2010), which focused on the spillover effects of the Swedish combat aircraft, Gripen, in this book Gunnar Eliasson widens the perspective to cover product development across the Swedish defense industry, with an emphasis on regional economic development and macro-economics, inter alia through the involvement of Saab (aircraft) and Kockums (submarines) in partnership ventures in Australia, Norway and Brazil. The volume is organized into four parts. Part one examines the historical transformation of the Swedish economy over the past three centuries from agriculture and raw materials to an advanced industrial economy. Part two presents detailed case studies to illustrate the spillover effects of procurement projects and military-industrial partnerships. Part three explains the spillover phenomenon theoretically within a dynamic micro- to macro-economic perspective. Particular emphasis is placed on the empirical credibility of model-based economy-wide and dynamic cost-benefit calculations. The book concludes with a section on fostering industrial development through public procurement. The result is a book that will appeal to economists in the industrial economics and management fields; to technical, marketing and purchasing executives in business; and to policy makers in public procurement concerned with innovation and long-run industrial development.
Admiral William H. McRaven is a part of American military history, having been involved in some of the most famous missions in recent memory, including the capture of Saddam Hussein, the rescue of Captain Richard Phillips, and the raid to kill Osama bin Laden.Sea Stories begins in 1960 at the American Officers' Club in France, where Allied officers and their wives gathered to have drinks and tell stories about their adventures during World War II -- the place where a young Bill McRaven learned the value of a good story. Sea Stories is an unforgettable look back on one man's incredible life, from childhood days sneaking into high-security military sites to a day job of hunting terrorists and rescuing hostages.Action-packed, inspiring, and full of thrilling stories from life in the special operations world, Sea Stories is a remarkable memoir from one of America's most accomplished leaders.
Volume 16 of Research in Occupational Stress and Well Being is focused on how stress and well-being shape the experiences of military personnel both in and out of the combat zone. The book examines the connections between life in or after the military and employee stress, health, and well being. Chapters in this volume include veterans' transitions into the workplace, work-family issues for military couples as well as children of parents in the military, post-traumatic stress disorder, psychopathy and emotion, the role of stress and well-being on performance in the military, resilience and stress interventions in military organizations and the use of drugs by soldiers and veterans as a coping mechanism for chronic pain. The book showcases the work of the best researchers and theorists contributing to this field to provide a multidisciplinary and international collection that gives a thorough and critical assessment of knowledge, and major gaps in knowledge, on occupational stress and well being with a view to shaping future research both in military and civilian research literatures.
Sure to be found controversial by some, compelling by all, this is the only available book-length examination of the way the U.S. Army and Department of Defense have tried to create the capabilities promised by the high-tech Revolution in Military Affairs. Of more immediate concern, it is also the only in-depth account of the effect RMA and transformation concepts had on the American operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. Many of the problems in both Iraq and Afghanistan, Adams argues, arose from the DoD's implacable desire to implement RMA-driven transformation concepts-whether they were appropriate or not. What we need to do, he maintains, is to fight the war we have, not the war we want. Over the last several decades, military theorists and others began to believe that new technologies were generating a "revolution in military affairs" (RMA), capabilities so revolutionary that they would redefine warfare. Spurred by these beliefs, and led by President George W. Bush and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, the Department of Defense (DoD) set out to transform the U.S. armed forces by adopting RMA concepts-and spending billions to make the hypothetical capabilities real. The entire structure of the armed forces changed as a result. This vision, however, was totally dependent on a set of unproven suppositions and often nonexistent capabilities, especially a network of information technologies. Moreover, the services, the media, Congress, and industry each had its own agenda, all of which continue to come into play in the development of RMA strategies. The interplay of politics, technology and military reality offers a fascinating narrative.
Tuskegee Airmen 1941-1945 shares the memories of 22 original Tuskegee Airmen and their experiences as African American combat aviators during World War II. Filled with photographs, combat records, mission reports, official correspondence, newspaper clippings, and the personal annotations of the original document owners, Tuskegee Airmen 1941-1945 provides a singularly unique resource for anyone researching the history of these legendary aviators. The first aviation class of Tuskegee Airmen, which comprised 13 cadets, began at Chanute Airfield in Rantoul, Illinois, on July 19, 1941. These cadets received ground school training in subjects such as meteorology, navigation, and instruments. Successful cadets then transferred to Tuskegee Army Air Field in October 1941 to complete pilot training. From 1941 to 1945, more than 900 pilots were trained at Tuskegee, receiving their commissions and wings. Tuskegee also graduated a group of twin-engine pilots assigned to the 477th Bombardment Group. These black navigators, bombardiers, and gunners of the 477th were trained at Army Air Corps bases located elsewhere throughout the United States. Tuskegee Airmen 1941-1945 is organized in a format similar to that of a high school or college yearbook. A significant difference is that unlike in a school "Annual," the authors of this historical book have covered a four-year period recording, highlighting, and commemorating the accomplishments of their fellow Tuskegee alumni. This narrative has a manifold purpose, which has interwoven threads of deeds, actions, thoughts, and ideals into one composite story. It goes inside the lives of many of the surviving Airmen, recounting stories of racism within the military alongside the Airmen's tenacious heroism. Tuskegee Airmen 1941-1945 is a must-read for any serious student of American military, aviation or civil rights history of the 20th century.
In this extraordinary book, 15 recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor tell the stories of the actions for which they received their awards. The stories themselves present true examples of valor, courage, and sacrifice. More than stories, however, they recount moments of significance in the life of our country. The Congressional Medal of Honor is the highest award given to American servicemen for valor in battle. Only slightly more than 200 recipients of the Medal of Honor are alive today. In this extraordinary book, 15 recipients tell the stories of the actions for which they received their awards. Heroes from the Marines, the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force recount their stories of action in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. Together, their stories present a definition of heroism in battle. Individually, they are fifteen profiles of the Hero. The stories, based on interviews with the recipients and written by Kent DeLong, the attending physician of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, are well-told and exciting. They present true examples of valor, courage, and sacrifice. But they are more than just stories. They are the oral history of significant moments in the life of our country.
In 1898 John H. Patterson arrived in East Africa with a mission to
build a railway bridge over the Tsavo River. Over the course of
several weeks Patterson and his mostly Indian workforce were
systematically hunted by two man-eating lions . In all, 100 workers
were killed, and the entire bridge-building project was delayed. As
well as being stalked by lions, Patterson had to guard his back
against his own increasingly hostile and mutinous workers as he set
out to track and kill the man-eaters.
This unique reference integrates knowledge culled from fifteen years of U.S. deployments to create an action plan for supporting military and veteran families during future conflicts. Its innovative ideas stretch beyond designated governmental agencies (e.g., Department of Defense, VA) to include participation from, and possible collaborations with, the business/corporate, academic, advocacy, and philanthropic sectors. Contributors identify ongoing and emerging issues affecting military and veteran families and recommend specific strategies toward expanding and enhancing current programs and policy. This proactive agenda also outlines new directions for mobilizing the research community, featuring strategies for addressing institutional challenges and improving access to critical data. Included in the coverage: Lessons learned inside the Pentagon. Merging reintegration streams for veterans and military families. The unique role of professional associations in assisting military families: a case study. Philanthropy for military and veteran families: challenges past, recommendations for tomorrow. Rules of engagement: media coverage of military families during war. Designing and implementing strategic research studies to support military families. A Battle Plan for Supporting Military Families is of immediate usefulness to leaders, professionals, and future professionals in interdisciplinary academic, governmental, advocacy, and philanthropic areas of focus interested in the theoretical, practical, and real-life concerns and needs of military-affiliated families.
This first part of a two-volume series examines in detail the financing of America's major wars from the American Revolution to the Civil War. It interweaves analyses of political policy, military strategy and operations, and war finance and economic mobilization with examinations of the events of America's major armed conflicts, offering useful case studies for students of military history and spending policy, policymakers, military comptrollers, and officers in training.
David Kenyon Webster's memoir is a clear-eyed, emotionally charged
chronicle of youth, camaraderie, and the chaos of war. Relying on
his own letters home and recollections he penned just after his
discharge, Webster gives a first hand account of life in "E
Company, 101st Airborne Division," crafting a memoir that resonates
with the immediacy of a gripping novel. "From the Trade Paperback edition."
In 1944 the British War Office distributed a handbook to British soldiers informing them what to expect and how to behave in a newly-liberated France. Containing candid descriptions of this war-ravaged society (widespread malnourishment, rampant tuberculosis) as well as useful phrases and a pronunciation guide (Bonjewer, commont-allay-voo), it was an indispensable guide to everyday life. This small, unassuming publication had a deeper purpose: to bring together two allies who did not enjoy ideal relations in 1944. The book attempts to reconcile differences by stressing a shared history and the common aim - defeating Hitler. It also tried to dispel misapprehensions: 'There is a fairly widespread belief among people in Britain that the French are a particularly gay, frivolous people with no morals and few convictions.' Often unintentionally hilarious in its expression of these false impressions, the book is also a guide for avoiding social embarrassment: 'If you should happen to imagine that the first pretty French girl who smiles at you intends to dance the can-can or take you to bed, you will risk stirring up a lot of trouble for yourself - and for our relations with the French.' Many of its observations still ring true today. For example, 'The French are more polite than most of us. Remember to call them "Monsieur, Madame, Mademoiselle," not just "Oy!"' Others remind us of how we recently we have adopted French customs: 'Don't drink yourself silly. If you get the chance to drink wine, learn to "'take it".' Anyone with an interest in Britain, France or World War II will find this an irresistible insight into British attitudes towards the French and an interesting, timeless commentary on Anglo-French relations.
This unique resource provides findings and insights regarding the multiple impacts of military duty on service members and veterans, specifically from a family standpoint. Broad areas of coverage include marital and family relationships, parenting issues, family effects of war injuries, and family concerns of single service members. The book's diverse contents highlight understudied populations and topics gaining wider interest while examining the immediate and long-term impact of service on family functioning. In addition to raising awareness of issues, chapters point to potential solutions including science-based pre- and post-deployment programs, more responsive training for practitioners, and more focused research and policy directions. Among the topics covered: * Deployment and divorce: an in-depth analysis by relevant demographic and military characteristics. * Military couples and posttraumatic stress: interpersonally based behaviors and cognitions as mechanisms of individual and couple distress. * Warfare and parent care: armed conflict and the social logic of child and national protection. * Understanding the experiences of women and LGBT veterans in Department of Veterans Affairs care. * Risk and resilience factors in combat military health care providers. * Tangible, instrumental, and emotional support among homeless veterans. War and Family Life offers up-to-date understanding for mental health professionals who serve military families, both in the U.S. and abroad.
Life after war is intrinsically political for former combatants. As wars end, societies and former combatants face a period of transition. This book explores the experience of coming home for former combatants, capturing the challenges and opportunities for political mobilization among former combatants as they return from three very different wars: South West Africa People's Organization combatants who participated in the Namibian War of Independence (1966-90); guerrillas from Movimiento 19 de Abril who joined the ongoing guerilla warfare conducted against the Colombian state (1974-90), and combatants from the United States who participated in the Vietnam War (1955-75). Offering an insightful perspective on peace as a process through the long-term study of the lives of fifty former combatants, Soederstroem demonstrates how the process of coming home shapes their political commitment and identity. Combining detailed scholarship with interviews with former combatants, this volume serves as a powerful reminder of the legacies of war in the lives of former combatants. -- .
Written in a lively and readable style by the world's leading authority on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and US-European relations, Defense of the West is the history of a transatlantic security relationship that has endured for over seventy years. This latest edition of a classic work looks at how developments inside NATO and European Union member states affect their ability to defend against external threats while preserving Western values, in the era of Trump and Brexit. Sloan frankly addresses the failures and shortcomings of Western institutions and member states. But the book emphasizes the continuing importance of value-based transatlantic security cooperation as a vital element of the defense and foreign policies of NATO and EU member states. At a time of heightened tension and political turmoil, at home and abroad, Stan Sloan's lucid and far-sighted analysis is more necessary than ever. -- .
This book demonstrates through country case studies that, contrary to received wisdom, Latin American militaries can contribute productively, but under select conditions, to non-traditional missions of internal security, disaster relief, and social programs. Latin American soldiers are rarely at war, but have been called upon to perform these missions in both lethal and non-lethal ways. Is this beneficial to their societies or should the armed forces be left in the barracks? As inherently conservative institutions, they are at their best, the author demonstrates, when tasked with missions that draw on pre-existing organizational strengths that can be utilized in appropriate and humane ways. They are at a disadvantage when forced to reinvent themselves. Ultimately, it is governments that must choose whether or not to deploy soldiers, and they should do so, based on a pragmatic assessment of the severity and urgency of the problem, the capacity of the military to effectively respond, and the availability of alternative solutions.
The concept of 'othering' which can be understood as the process of differentiation from the Self has been a basic tenet of the war story since war stories were first told. This practise of deliberate differentiation is indicative of the fact that war stories are essentially about the production of identity. The aim of this book, therefore, is to unravel some of the gendered ideologies that underpin the link between state identity and foreign security policy by looking at a certain case, state and foreign security policy. In particular this volume explores the identity of the United States through military documents on perception management in conflict from 1991-2007 shedding light on the 'othering' and the 'selfing' that occurs in these particular war stories. In doing so it lays bare the gendered ideologies that underpins US identity between these years as well as exploring potential spaces for alternatives. Thus, this book ventures a detailed and unique look at a particular aspect of the gendered reproduction of the state.
"It is impossible to reproduce the state of mind of the men who waged war in 1917 and 1918," Edward Coffman wrote in "The War to End All Wars." In "Doughboys on the Great War" the voices of thousands of servicemen say otherwise. The majority of soldiers from the American Expeditionary Forces returned from Europe in 1919. Where many were simply asked for basic data, veterans from four states--Utah, Minnesota, Connecticut, and Virginia--were given questionnaires soliciting additional information and "remarks." Drawing on these questionnaires, completed while memories were still fresh, this book presents a chorus of soldiers' voices speaking directly of the expectations, motivations, and experiences as infantrymen on the Western Front in World War I. What was it like to kill or maim German soldiers? To see friends killed or maimed by the enemy? To return home after experiencing such violence? Again and again, soldiers wrestle with questions like these, putting into words what only they can tell. They also reflect on why they volunteered, why they fought, what their training was, and how ill-prepared they were for what they found overseas. They describe how they interacted with the civilian populations in England and France, how they saw the rewards and frustrations of occupation duty when they desperately wanted to go home, and--perhaps most significantly--what it all added up to in the end. Together their responses create a vivid and nuanced group portrait of the soldiers who fought with the American Expeditionary Forces on the battlefields of Aisne-Marne, Argonne Forest, Belleau Wood, Chateau-Thierry, the Marne, Metz, Meuse-Argonne, St. Mihiel, Sedan, and Verdun during the First World War. The picture that emerges is often at odds with the popular
notion of the disillusioned doughboy. Though hardened and harrowed
by combat, the veteran heard here is for the most part proud of his
service, service undertaken for duty, honor, and country. In short,
a hundred years later, the doughboy once more speaks in his own
true voice.
The number of older war veterans receiving disability benefits is steadily growing and is predicted to rise in the next decade. This book provides comprehensive knowledge about health and psychosocial concerns of veterans aging with disabilities and unmet needs and compares policy in three countries that have been involved in massive warfare in the 20th century--the United Kingdom (UK), the United States (US), and Israel. Using a cross-national comparative study of the policies, legislation and services provided by these three countries, which have significant numbers of aging disabled military veterans, this book provides evidence-based knowledge on the trajectories and attendant mental-health and psychosocial problems this sub-group faces when aging with a disability. It sheds light on the paradox in which most veterans with disabilities in the UK, USA and Israel are older, while the current legislation and budget target younger veterans with disabilities. The book reflects the current debate regarding the desired policy toward older veterans with disabilities in these countries and whether to provide them with proactive health services prior to retirement to prevent "accelerated aging". It also evaluates the dilemma of whether to serve aging veterans separately as a unique population or to provide them with the same services used by the general population. This book will be of interest to all academics and students working in disability studies, rehabilitation studies, gerontology, psychology, sociology, social work, social policy, and law more broadly.
The Spanish Civil War has been the most important, decisive and traumatic event in contemporary Spain, but also one of the most iconic events in the recent history of the Western world. However, musicology has not devoted a great deal of attention to the war of 1936-1939 until very recently. This volume is the first collective book dedicated to music and the Spanish Civil War. The contributions, drawn from musicologists, historians and anthropologists from Spain, Mexico, Australia, and the United States, explore the songs at the front, war soundscapes, propaganda and music policies, censorship, music in prisons, different music genres, exiled composers and critics, musical diplomacy, memory, and Spanish Civil War as a topic in contemporary music.
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