Archive for the 'Military History' Category
The United States has focused so closely on conventional warfare in all its forms–land, sea, and air–that it has trouble when forms of warfare that are resolutely unconventional crop up. American weapons, doctrine, and training are unprepared to react quickly to situations that do not fit into the preconceived mindset. Even worse, the [...]
It is a commonplace of analysis–historical and otherwise–to suggest that militaries fight the last war. So commonplace, that it has trickled into analyses of non-military matters, such as Investment banking. The truism is, unfortunately, not particularly true. Rather, militaries prepare to fight the last war that they want to fight. Generals [...]
Suicide rates in the military have jumped over the past few years. The Army has seen the highest rates of suicide in the last 30 years, according to an Associated Press article:
Suicides among U.S. Army troops rose again last year and are at a nearly three-decade high, senior defense officials told The Associated Press [...]
Also posted at Edge of the American West
First off, let me thank the proprietors of this fine sea vessel for welcoming me aboard. Eric’s insistence that my turn at the tiller can only lead the ship straight onto the rocks of post-Cliopatria decline is heartwarming. And with that, I will drop the nautical metaphor before [...]
Also posted at Edge of the American West
For an explanation of the following, see this.
In the New York Times in early January 1900, China appeared several times, in a number of roles. There was China, the state, much fought over by the imperial powers of the world, ancient, decayed, helpless to resist, and ripe for [...]
Originally posted at Edge of the American West.
On this day in history (Tokyo time), units of the Imperial Japanese Navy mounted an assault on the American naval base at Pearl Harbor. English language accounts of the attack, whether scholarly or popular, have focused on the American side of things, usually with a nod to [...]
Part I (Army),here
Part II (Air Force) here
The services remain largely stuck in their efforts to transform for the 21st century. The Army, though moving closer towards developing an institutional knowledge of counterinsurgency, remains wedded to purchasing high technology equipment and weapons more suited for large conventional war. The Air Force has attached itself to the [...]
Part I (Army),here
The United States Air Force has been the poster child for avoiding the cold war transition. Perhaps more than any other service, the USAF has insisted on purchasing weapons and promulgating doctrines that would be just as applicable in 1978 as in 2008. The capabilities have changed, but the mind set has not. [...]
Originally posted here, here, and here.
“Lafayette, we are here.” Part I.
On this day in 1918, the United States launched an attack against the German trenches in the Meuse-Argonne region of northern France. It was the largest American effort since the Civil War; in absolute numbers it was the largest operation the United States [...]
Perhaps the most urgent lesson of any war is exactly the need to learn from the conflict. Combat is a harsh teacher but always offers precise tutorials in how, exactly, things can go wrong. Needless to say, Iraq has re-proven that adage. The organizations most eager to learn those lessons are the [...]
The Jamestown Project- Small Tent April 16, 2009 dsilbey
- Votes Have Consequences, or Regionalization (continued) April 14, 2009 dsilbey
- What A Regional Party Looks Like April 7, 2009 dsilbey
- What Defeat Looks Like March 31, 2009 dsilbey
- The Wrong Question March 30, 2009 dsilbey
- silbey@h-war
- ANN: Baghdad at Sunrise: A Brigade Commander's War in Iraq Video Lecture Poste
- REPLY: Trinidad during World War II (3 Responses)
- CROSS-POSTED REVIEW: H-Net Review Publication: 'About Soldiers, More or Less'
- TOC: _Defence and Peace Economics_ , Volum e 20 Issue 3
- TOC: Journal of Conflict Resolution Table of Contents for 1 August 2009; Vol. 5
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