military history

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• SOURCE: Academe Blog
  10/26/2020
  

  Overcoming Setbacks in Academic Freedom at West Point

  by Chris Arney

  "The West Point faculty model and its policies have been evolving since Congress mandated the inclusion of more civilian faculty members in the 1990s. However, the clash of ideals and teaching methods between the academic and military cultures still exists, sometimes resulting in civilian-military discord and disagreement over values and process."

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• 10/25/2020
  

  A Star-Spangled Moment of Reckoning for U.S. Civil-Military Relations?

  by Gregory D. Foster

  The "deal" between the military and civilian leadership has hinged on an exchange of obedience to lawful authority by the military for expectations of honesty, competence, and respect for the Constitution on the part of elected leaders. This deal has been taken for granted, until now. 

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• SOURCE: Washington Post
  10/13/2020
  

  Edward C. Meyer, General who Revamped Post-Vietnam ‘Hollow Army,’ Dies at 91

  by 10/13/2020

  During a congressional hearing in 1980, Gen. Meyer used the memorable phrase “a hollow Army” to describe how the military branch had been beset by staffing problems, outdated equipment and general malaise after the Vietnam War.

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• SOURCE: The Conversation
  10/8/2020
  

  Americans Aren't Worried about White Nationalism in the Military– Because They Don't Know It's There

  by Jennifer Spindel, Matt Motta, and Robert Ralston

  The extent of white nationalism in the active military is not precisely known. But few Americans are aware at all of the connections between the military and far right groups. Publicizing the fact that military leadership--a trusted group--is concerned about the issue could make more Americans aware of the problem of domestic extremism.

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• 10/11/2020
  

  The Battle of Salamis Opened the Door for Ancient Greece’s Golden Age

  by Fred Zilian

  September marked the 2,500th anniversary of the Battle of Salamis, where the Greeks won a surprising naval victory over Persian forces, thwarted their efforts to conquer Greece, and set the stage for the golden age of Athenian civilization. 

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• SOURCE: Foreign Affairs
  9/18/2020
  

  The Endless Fantasy of American Power

  by Andrew Bacevich

  Neither Trump nor Biden seems prepared to do the necessary work of moving military power and force from the center of American foreign policy. The consequence will be further endless war at the expense of the global-scale policies needed to confront the most urgent threats.

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• 9/20/2020
  

  Breaking Lincoln's Promise

  by Shannon Bontrager

  Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg address demanded that Americans keep the memory of both the Union dead and their cause alive and "hot." The cooling of that memory has enabled backlashes against justice through history, and today. 

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• SOURCE: Made By History at The Washington Post
  9/13/2020
  

  Trump’s Doubts about the Military have Deep Roots in Both Parties

  by Michael Kazin

  Recent media discussions of Trump's remarks about war veterans and indifference to visiting a World War I memorial should prompt deeper thought about the antiwar movements of the right and left that the Great War created. Opposition to war can be rooted in very different values and advance different ends.

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• 9/13/2020
  

  The Pentagon is Missing the Big Picture on "Stars and Stripes"

  by Mark T. Hauser

  The Pentagon's plan to scrap funding for the Stars and Stripes newspaper isn't just an attack on a historic military institution. It's ignoring the lessons the paper's history offers for efficient operation and integrating military operations with the economic life of the nation. 

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• SOURCE: War on the Rocks
  9/11/2020
  

  Many Black World War II Veterans Were Denied Their GI Bill Benefits. Time To Fix That.

  by Robert Levinson

  Fixing the biased legacy of the GI Bill could send a powerful message and, more importantly, actually repair some of the damage caused by racism that still affects black Americans today.

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• SOURCE: War on the Rocks
  9/8/2020
  

  In 2020, Eisenhower is a Lantern in the Dark

  by Derek Chollet

  The opening of a monument to Ike in Washington is occasion to remember his commitment to the idea that American national strength depended on internal harmony and justice. 

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• SOURCE: Yakima (WA) Herald
  9/10/2020
  

  Yakima Sailor's Remains Identified 78 Years After Pearl Harbor Attack

  Advances in DNA testing made it possible to identify the remains of Patrick Chess, unnacounted for and presumed dead in the attack on the USS Oklahoma. 

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• SOURCE: Washington Post
  9/8/2020
  

  He Saved Scores of Lives on D-Day. Lawmakers Say He Was Passed Over for the Medal of Honor Because He Was Black

  The late Waverly Woodson is one of an untold number of Black service members passed over for the Medal of Honor whose cases have received renewed attention decades later, as their families and historians try to correct a historical record in which the contributions of Black service members are often left out.

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• 9/6/2020
  

  The "Triple Nickles": Jim Crow Was an Elite Black Airborne Battalion's Toughest Foe

  by Robert F. Williams

  The lesson of the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion for African Americans is a sadly familiar one: proving oneself is not enough; becoming members of a select fraternity was not enough to earn the respect and equality that comes with full citizenship.

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• SOURCE: USA Today
  9/4/2020
  

  The Pentagon Has Ordered Stars And Stripes To Shut Down For No Good Reason

  "As a publication that’s underwritten by the military but not answerable to the brass, Stars and Stripes embodies that most American of values: the right to speak truth to power."

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• SOURCE: New York Times
  8/31/2020
  

  The Few, the Proud, the White: The Marine Corps Balks at Promoting Generals of Color

  The stalled career of a distinguished Black Marine officer raises questions about how completely the Corps has embraced racial integration and equality in its leadership. 

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• SOURCE: KWTX
  8/24/2020
  

  Fort Hood: Historians and Veterans Pushing to Rename Post after Female Army Trailblazer

  Oveta Culp Hobby, a Killeen native, led the women’s Army corps during World War II.

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• SOURCE: The New York Times
  8/19/2020
  

  The Untold Story of the Black Marines Charged With Mutiny at Sea

  In 1973, the House Armed Services Committe, led by a segregationist, believed that "reforms were the problem" in the wake of racial strife, notes Navy historian John Sherwood.

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• 8/23/2020
  

  In Removing Confederate Symbols, US Military Follows German Military’s Example

  by Fred Zilian

  With unification, a fundamental break with the values of the East German Communist Party was necessary. Former East German soldiers would now belong to an army of a democracy, rooted in the concept of the “citizen in uniform."

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• SOURCE: JSTOR Daily
  8/18/2020
  

  The Environmental Costs of War

  The effort to secure and refine aluminum ore for war materiel was environmentally damaging and previews the globalized impact of commodity supply chains.