Citizen-soldiers have played one of the most important roles in providing an integral part to the United States national defense system. From the earliest founding of the American militia in 1636, to the participation of National Guard and Reserve forces in today's war on terror, citizen-soldiers have come forward during national emergencies to provide necessary defense. The defense system of America has always had a need for citizen roles in the military, which have become the foundation for the National Guard and Reserve. These men and women have contributed greatly to their country in times of military action, especially in their roles since the attacks of September 11, 2001. This book provides groundbreaking information on the contributions of these citizen-soldiers, and gives first-hand account biographies from the men and women that help serve America. The members of the National Guard and Reserve have become essential to the nation's first line of defense in both Iraq and Afghanistan in recent years. No other book provides the extensive information and history that has shaped this crucial extension of the American defense system.

From their creation in 1636 to the continual effort they provide for the United States, the citizen-soldier has played an integral part in shaping the history of America's defense system. Through their active participation, the men and women of the National Guard and Reserve, provide the necessary manpower that is needed to defend the nation. They have come forward not only during times of war but in national emergencies and in their daily lives as well. This work provides factual articles and interpretive essays to help examine the development of the citizen-soldier in times of war and peace. Continually, it covers the importance of the National Guard and Reserve from early colonial times through the current war in Iraq. Doubler provides a human dimension of the citizen-soldier through seven biographical sketches of key individuals. In addition, a separate section contains extracts of the key legislation that has shaped the National Guard and Reserves along with an annotated chronology and bibliography for reference. No other reference handbook provides this thorough of an examination of the National Guard and Reserve, including groundbreaking information on the roles and missions of these men and women in the war on terror since the September 11, 2001 attacks.

"Busting the bocage: American combined arms operations in France, 6 June-31 July 1944" shows how the U.S. Army identified and overcame the problems of fighting in difficult terrain. The adoption of new tactics combined with technical innovations and good small-unit leadership enabled American forces to defeat a well-prepared and skillful enemy. In the hedgerow country, the U.S. Army eventually brought the separate components of the combined arms team-infantry, armor, and artillery-to bear on the enemy simultaneously. The resulting successes were costly but effective. Combat in the bocage demonstrated the U.S. Army's capability to fight and win in anew and hostile environment.

First published in 1988. Over sixty years have passed since Allied armies landed in Normandy with the purpose of liberating western Europe and destroying Hitler's Third Reich. Despite this passage of time and extensive writings on the landings in France, officers and historians are still intensely interested in D-Day and the Normandy campaign. Indeed, a great deal remains to be learned about the U.S. Armys's participation in the Normandy campaign, and a detailed examination of the fighting yields a fruitful case study for America's professional officer corps concerning how American soldiers performed in combat, how squads and platoons closed with and destroyed the enemy, and how the Army adapted methods to overcome a whole host of problems that it encountered in combat. This study attempts to identify the problems that hampered the operations of the U.S. First Army during the weeks immediately following the D-Day landings. in Normandy, inexperienced American combat units struggled with veteran German defenders on terrain specially suited for the defense. The U.S. Army was faced with the problem of conducting offensive operations in the Normandy hedgerow country- known as the Bocage. Shortcomings in preinvasion training and preparation resulted initially in uncoordinated efforts whenever American infantry, tanks, and artillery tried to combine forces during attacks.

One of the earliest performers on WSM in Nashville, Uncle Dave Macon became the Grand Ole Opry's first superstar. His old-time music and energetic stage shows made him a national sensation and fueled a thirty-year run as one of America's most beloved entertainers. Michael D. Doubler tells the amazing story of the Dixie Dewdrop, a country music icon. Born in 1870, David Harrison Macon learned the banjo from musicians passing through his parents' Nashville hotel. After playing local shows in Middle Tennessee for decades, a big break led Macon to Vaudeville, the earliest of his two hundred-plus recordings and eventually to national stardom. Uncle Dave--clad in his trademark plug hat and gates-ajar collar--soon became the face of the Opry itself with his spirited singing, humor, and array of banjo picking styles. For the rest of his life, he defied age to tour and record prolifically, manage his business affairs, mentor up-and-comers like David "Stringbean" Akeman, and play with the Delmore Brothers, Roy Acuff, and Bill Monroe.

Closing with the Enemy picks up where D-Day leaves off. From Normandy through the "breakout" in France to the German army's last gasp in the Battle of the Bulge, Doubler deals with the deadly business of war-closing with the enemy, fighting and winning battles, taking and holding territory. His study provides a provocative reassessment of how American GIs accomplished these dangerous and costly tasks.

Doubler portrays a far more capable and successful American fighting force than previous historians-notably Russell Weigley, Martin Van Creveld, and S.L.A. Marshall-have depicted. True, the GIs weren't fully prepared or organized for a war in Europe and have often been viewed as inferior to their German opponent. But, Doubler argues, they more than compensated for this by their ability to learn quickly from mistakes, to adapt in the face of unforeseen obstacles, and to innovate new tactics on the battlefield. This adaptability, Doubler contends, was far more crucial to the American effort than we've been led to believe.

Fueled by a fiercely democratic and entrepreneurial spirit, GI innovations emerged from every level within the ranks-from the novel employment of conventional weapons and small units to the rapid retraining of troops on the battlefield. Their most dramatic success, however, was with combined arms warfare-the coordinated use of infantry, tanks, artillery, air power, and engineers-in which they perfected the use of air support for ground operations and tank-infantry teams for breaking through enemy strongholds.

Doubler argues that, without such ingenuity and imaginative leadership, it would have been impossible to defeat an enemy as well trained and heavily fortified as the German army the GIs confronted in the tortuous hedgerow country of northern France, the narrow cobble-stoned streets of Aachen and Brest, the dark recesses of the Huertgen Forest, and the frigid snow-covered hills of the Ardennes.

Marking the 50th anniversary of the American victory in the Battle of the Bulge, Doubler offers a timely reminder that "the tremendous effects of firepower and technology will still not relieve ground troops of the burden of closing with the enemy." As even Desert Storm suggests, that will likely prove true for future high-tech battlefields, where an army's adaptability will continue to be prized.