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Summary:

"Despite its insistent claims to the contrary, the United States Army is deeply involved in domestic American politics, so much so that it has repeatedly changed its way of fighting war to better align with how it is perceived by the American public. This is not a new development. Over a period of roughly sixty years (1939-2001), the Army transformed its relationship with the government and the American people. This book tells the story of how the Army gradually entwined its domestic statecraft with its military strategy from World War II (when its senior officers first began to take press work seriously) to the Revolution in Military Affairs (when Army leaders finally accepted the benefits of aligning public affairs with the other services in a joint effort). It chronicles the fall and rise of the world's most powerful force and charts the new challenges to American democracy posed by a military that has gained, at great expense, a new and potent expertise in politics. It describes how the Army learned to speak for itself, and what this has meant for the way it fights war and maintains readiness in times of peace. More particularly, this book uncovers a new understanding of what the Army learned about domestic American politics during the Vietnam War, why it suppressed this new understanding for nearly two decades, and how it has balanced statecraft and strategy since Operation Desert Storm. The argument is built around two paradoxes. During the Vietnam War, the Army discovered that it could achieve success on the battlefield yet still experience failure in the political arena. Later, the opposite became true: despite consistent and costly battlefield failures, the Army found itself politically victorious. The Political Army offers fresh insights into the relationship between state and society and the transforming politics of war. It provides a point of entry into one of the most consequential but inaccessible sites of government power: the way the Department of Defense shapes American democracy"-- [Provided by publisher]

Table of Contents:

• The Democracy of War
• The Army Ascendant : Marshall's Media Management, 1939-1945
• Army Overreach : Domestic Politics and Command Culture, 1945-1963
• Outpaced : The Press and Public Affairs in Vietnam, 1963-1968
• The Tet Paradox : Media Management Regimes in Vietnam, 1968-1975
• Tet Suppressed : Army Doctrinal Innovations, 1976-1982
• Recovery : Small Wars and Organizational Renewal, 1983-1989
• The Test : Media Management Regimes in the Gulf War, 1990-1991
• Lessons Learned and Not Learned, 1991-2000
• The Birth, Fall, and Rise of the Political Army.

Author/Creator:

Crosbie, Thomas (Writer on military affairs) , author

Languages:

English

Language Notes:

Item content: English

Main Work:

The political army: how the U.S. military learned to manage the media and public opinion [by Crosbie, T.]

Other Related Resources:

Print version: Political army [by Crosbie, T.] (New York : Columbia University Press, [2025] — ISBN 9780231219778; LCCN 2024036411)

Subjects:

United States Army — Public relations — History — 20th century

United States Army — Press coverage — History — 20th century

United States Army — Political activity — History — 20th century

United States Army — Public opinion — History — 20th century

Armed Forces and mass media — United States

Politics and war — United States

Civil-military relations — United States

Press and politics — United States

Public opinion — United States

United States — Politics and government — 20th century

General Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.
Description based on: Print version record and CIP data provided by publisher; resource not viewed.

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Call Numbers:

UH703 .C767 2025eb

ISBNs:

9780231562898 (ebook)
0231562896
9780231219778 (hardback) [Invalid]
9780231219785 (trade paperback) [Invalid]

Library of Congress Control Numbers:

2024036412

OCLC Numbers:

1463678263