Consequences of military downsizing: An analysis of similarities and differences in the United States Army between the post World War I period (1919--1939) and the post Cold War period (1988--1999).

摘要

The present study determines perceptions and attitudes of selected Post Cold War U.S. Army commanders toward military downsizing in order to compare and contrast those findings with perceptions and attitudes toward downsizing held by selected military leaders during the Post World War I period. An additional purpose was to determine the degree to which those attitudes held by both sets of military leaders agreed or disagreed with historical analysis of military downsizing for each period. Using a point by point comparison method and taking into account that there are conceptual differences between the Post World War I era and the Post Cold War period, downsizing issues in the areas of personnel shortages, morale decline, equipment issues, factors related to readiness for war, reasons for combat readiness, and politico-military interventions are analyzed for both periods. Findings reveal similar perceptions and attitudes toward downsizing held by military leaders of both periods.