The Downsized Warrior: America's Army in Transition

by David McCormick

Book Overview

Downsizing has become one of the defining phenomena of the post-Cold War era, a trend affecting few sectors of American life more than the armed forces. Between 1989 and 1996, the active duty Army was cut back by more than a third, from 770,000 soldiers to fewer than half a million. Additional cuts are virtually certain to follow.
How has the Army implemented this mandate to downsize? What common threads exist between past post-war cutbacks...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0814755844
• ISBN13: 9780814755846
• Release Date: February 1998
• Publisher: New York University Press
• Length: 278 Pages
• Weight: 1.18 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Right on the money review of US military downsizing

As a participant in the political selling off, downsizing, and rightsizing of some of America's industrial and personnel infrastructure, I can tell you that McCormick hits the players in the process right between the eyes with a refreshing honesty. During a time when a soldier wonders what is happening to the Department of Defense mechanisms that were supposed to be in place to protect ALL Americans with a viable defense, McCormick's analysis of the players and decisions made are on the money. I personally commanded 3 units during inactivation and the Base Reutilization and Closure (BRAC) processes. The manipulation of statistics to placate assigned service personnel isn't working as evidenced by declining numbers of personnel staying in the military. Defense leaders wondering why need to read the book.

Scholarly, yet common-sense view of a critical US entity.

Dr. McCormick's work is unusually sensible and down-to-earth, a quality that one does not often find in a scholarly work. The subject is a difficult one to approach, much less assess. If, indeed, McCormick's observations and conclusions are correct, the country probably would do well to seek his continued input as our largest organization, the military, considers its options and level of reorganization.