Most civil wars do not spring up overnight, and the American Civil War was no exception. The seeds of the conflict were sown in the earliest days of the republic's founding, primarily over the existence of slavery and the slave trade. Although no conflict can begin without the conscious decisions of those engaged in the debates at that moment, in the end, there was simply no way to paper over the division of the country into two camps: one that was dominated by slavery and the other that sought first to limit its spread and then to abolish it. Our nation was indeed "half slave and half free,"...

Disaster on Green Ramp: The Army's Response is a powerful story of pain, terror, pride, courage, and compassion. It celebrates the magnificent spirit of the men and women who make up America's military community. This work describes the Army's exceptionally effective response to the tragic events on 23 March 1994 at Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina. On that day a large number of Army paratroopers from nearby Fort Bragg had assembled in an area adjacent to the airstrip known as Green Ramp, preparing to board a transport that would carry them aloft for a training parachute jump. They never...

The Mexican War (1846-1848) was the U.S. Army's first experience waging an extended conflict in a foreign land. This brief war is often overlooked by casual students of history since it occurred so close to the American Civil War and is overshadowed by the latter's sheer size and scope. Yet, the Mexican War was instrumental in shaping the geographical boundaries of the United States. At the conclusion of this conflict, the U.S. had added some one million square miles of territory, including what today are the states of Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and California, as well as portions of...

Defense acquisition reform initiatives have been Department of Defense perennials over the past fifty years. Yet reforming the acquisition process remains a high priority each time a new administration comes into office. Many notable studies of defense acquisition with recommendations for changes have been published, and each has reached the same general findings with similar recommendations. However, despite the defense community's intent to reform the acquisition process, the difficulty of the problem and the associated politics, combined with organizational dynamics that are resistant to...

To many Americans, the war in Vietnam was, and remains, a divisive conflict. Now almost fifty years after the beginning of major U.S. combat operations in Vietnam, the war has faded from much of America's consciousness. Over half of the U.S. population was born after the war and has no direct memory of the conflict, yet this does not lessen its importance. The massive American commitment-political, military, and diplomatic-to the independence of South Vietnam beginning in the 1950s and continuing with U.S. direct combat operations in the 1960s and early 1970s makes it important to remember...

The War of 1812 is perhaps the United States' least known conflict. Other than Andrew Jackson's 1815 victory at New Orleans and Francis Scott Key's poem "The Star-Spangled Banner" written in 1814 during the British attack on Baltimore, most Americans know little about the country's second major war. Its causes are still debated by historians today. Great Britain's impressment of American sailors, its seizure of American ships on the high seas, and suspected British encouragement of Indian opposition to further American settlement on the western frontier all contributed to America's decision...

From the earliest days of the Republic, the United States Anny has not just maintained the national defense but has also performed a wide variety of peacetime missions. Army officers helped explore the West, Anny engineers built early flood control systems, and Army pilots flew the first airmail routes. The Army Medical Department in particular has long aided the civilian community. Its members regularly contributed to the advancement of medical knowledge and in special situations provided health care for civilians. The Demands of Humanity examines one aspect of that direct assistance,...

From the wheat fields of the Civil War lo the jungles and paddies of Vietnam, the United States Army has led the world in adapting modern transport technology to the humanitarian goal of saving the lives of the sick and wounded. Drawing on its first experiments with helicopters in Korea, the Army in Vietnam came to rely almost entirely on the helicopter for medical evacuation, The Dust Off and Medevac helicopter ambulance units tested and perfected for medical use the Army's new helicopter, the UH- I (" Huey" Iroquois), and developed several new devices, especially the hoist, that helped save...

American Military Heritage is an easily digestible historical compendium. First published in 1998 for TRADOC personnel and reprinted in 2001 for a wider Army audience, the resulting volume is highly readable and graphically handsome with many colorful illustrations that enhance the narrative vignettes. Those responsible for training and mentoring future generations of Army leaders will come to rely on this useful volume to instill an appreciation for the lore and traditions so vitally apart of the Army's rich heritage.

With Makin and Guam, a three-volume account of the Army operations against a determined enemy up through the Central Pacific.