Effects of Service Culture on Joint Officer Assignments

摘要

There is no doubt among today's professional officer corps that joint operations are the only way that America's armed forces will conduct all future contingency operations. To be truly effective, the officer corps must possess an inherently joint mindset to fully employ the military element of national power. Joint officer management is codified in Title IV, Joint Officer Personnel Policy, of the Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986, commonly referred to as the Goldwater-Nichols Act, or GNA for short. Title IV specifies a complete system of joint officer management to include management policies, promotion objectives, education requirements, and utilization and experience requirements. In the 17 years since the passing of the GNA, how much progress have the Services made towards implementing the spirit of the law in addition to the letter of the law. Do the officer cultures of the Services support or hinder the joint officer management policies of the GNA. This research project discusses the background and origins of the GNA, the existing joint atmosphere at the time, and what the GNA attempted to fix. It then discusses organizational culture and its effects on the behavior of the members of the organization and how it applies to the military services. It highlights the officer cultures of the military services and their perspectives on joint assignments. This project concludes with recommendations for change or improvement in service cultures, as needed, to fully support the spirit and intent of the GNA. (30 refs.).