Professional Military Education (PME) is broader and more rigorous than is widely understood in the United States. Improving educational programs within the military service branches is at the very center of ongoing force transformation efforts and advanced educational opportunities occur at various, set levels of military experience. Military education increasingly conforms to standards imposed by outside civilian accrediting bodies and is mandated and monitored, to an extent, by Congress. "Military Education"explores this often-overlooked area of education within the context of the...

Written by one of the nation's foremost security policy analysts, the second edition of "U.S. National Security: A Reference Handbook" follows the trajectory of American security policy from the Cold War to the World Trade Center attacks to the Bush Administration. It brings the distinctive clarity and objectivity of the first edition to the study of a vastly different world.

With over 75 percent new material, "U.S. National Security, Second Edition" provides an up-to-date assessment of security challenges facing the United States today incorporates the full range of viewpoints on the...

The end of the Cold War ushered in a new kind of war that has already made conventional tactics and strategy obsolete. How has the U.S. military responded?

In "U.S. Military Service: A Reference Handbook," Cynthia Watson, professor of strategy at the National War College, analyzes the major issues that are reshaping the military in the era of global terrorism--problems of recruitment, urban warfare, effective use of electronic media, and rebuilding failed states. She also examines the unprecedented policy of relinquishing military duties to the for-profit sector, which has occurred in...

In Western, developing, and totalitarian countries alike, the armed forces are powerful political organizations that play key roles in domestic politics. Yet, the literature on civilian-military relations provides few comparative examinations of the military's political role. In 27 chapters devoted to representative countries, this handbook looks at the varying roles the military plays around the world. Political role is defined as substantial and purposeful involvement in the making and allocating of wealth and social and political values. Using this definition, each chapter traces the...

The first book on the topic, "Combatant Commands: Origins, Structure, and Engagements" is a unique introduction to the geographic commands that are now at the heart of the U.S. military deployment abroad. The book begins with a description of the six commands--Northern Command, Pacific Command, Central Command, Southern Command, European Command, and Africa Command--explaining how they fit into the current national security establishment. Each command is discussed in depth, including areas of responsibility, subcommands, priorities, threats faced, and engagement institutions.

The...

" Stability, Security, Reconstruction, and Transition Operations: A Guide to the Issues" puts the people, places, and events crucial to nation-building and security operations through U.S. experiences under the microscope.

This book focuses on the period after the Cold War, when U.S. operations proliferated, but also outlines the development of U.S. strategic decisions on nation-building and stability operations in a chronological fashion, providing documentation of these actions throughout American history. Original documents are provided and referenced to clarify concepts. With the...