Victory on the Potomac: The Goldwater-Nichols Act Unifies by James R. Locher III, Sam Nunn

By James R. Locher III, Sam Nunn

War is waged not just on battlefields. within the mid-1980s a high-stakes political fight to revamp the relationships one of the president, secretary of security, Joint Chiefs of employees, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and warfighting commanders within the box led to the Goldwater-Nichols Act of 1986. writer James R. Locher III performed a key position within the congressional attempt to fix a dysfunctional army whose interservice squabbling had rate American taxpayers billions of greenbacks and positioned the lives of hundreds of thousands of servicemen and ladies in danger. Victory in this entrance helped make attainable the army successes the U.S. has loved because the passage of the invoice and to organize it for the demanding situations it needs to nonetheless face.Victory at the Potomac presents the 1st distinctive background of the way Congress unified the Pentagon and does so with the good thing about an insider's view. In a fast moving account that reads like a singular, Locher follows the invoice via congressional committee to ultimate passage, making transparent that the method is neither summary nor computerized. His vibrant descriptions deliver to lifestyles the superb forged of this real-life drama, from the straight-shooting chairman of the Senate Armed companies Committee, Barry Goldwater, to the peevishly obdurate secretary of protection, Caspear Weinberger.Locher's research of political maneuvering and bureaucratic infighting will fascinate somebody who has an curiosity in how executive works, and his knowing of the stakes in army reorganization will clarify why this legislative victory intended lots to American army capability.

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Additional info for Victory on the Potomac: The Goldwater-Nichols Act Unifies the Pentagon (Texas a & M University Military History Series)

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9 Neither department had designated a senior officer to represent professional military interests and provide operational advice. 10 A third major problem: Except for the president, no one coordinated activities of the War and Navy Departments. During the nineteenth century, the president’s role as sole coordinator did not overburden him. In the twentieth century, domestic affairs increasingly demanded the president’s attention. The expanded scope and complexity of military activities further taxed the chief executive.

22 The lack of a consensus on principles for organizing the military exacerbated the obstacles to reform. Experts debated issues for decades without resolution. 23 The advent of military aviation blurred the distinction between land and sea warfare—the basic organizing principle since the republic’s beginning— and signaled the need for adjustments in organization and warfighting concepts. The demonstration of airpower’s potential in World War I raised expectations for creation of a separate military department.

Neither said a word. ” I inquired. ” Goldwater blurted. ” “Their turf is the most important thing to them,” Goldwater continued. “When it’s threatened, there’s no reasoning with them. The chiefs’ message to us was clear. ”20 “I also couldn’t believe how ill-informed many of their arguments were,” Nunn added. ” Goldwater wanted to know. ”22 “Wickham privately told me he agreed with some parts of the bill,” Nunn interjected. “So, I didn’t expect him to be the most hostile chief. ”23 “If the Pentagon is ever going to be straightened out, the only hope is for Congress to do it,” Goldwater concluded.

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