ARTICLE REVIEW:
The Paradox of Professionalism: Eisenhower, Ridgway, and the Challenge to Civilian Control, 1953-1955, by A.J. Bacevich
The Author’s Thesis
In A.J. Bacevich’s 20 December, 2007 essay, The Paradox of Professionalism: Eisenhower, Ridgway, and the Challenge to Civilian Control, 1953-1955, he postured it with three direct and interrelated questions of civil-military relations, genuine civilian control, and civil-military relations to achieve national security. Then, he positioned his next several paragraphs that identified overarching issues associated with his questions, such as: Americans take civil-military relations for granted and display the perception that if there is "no coup? No problem.” Additionally the author specified that historians oversimplified the relational and control factors amidst the national civil authorities and senior military leaders, journalists reported information where they were not abreast of the facts, and Clinton's administration avoided relational conflicts with senior military leaders and that the Army pursued its self-interests in military tradition. The paragraphs lead to the author’s primary message and his thesis statement.
Bacevich stated his primary message was to make known the tensions and controversies in civil-military relations and the purpose is to illustrate the genuine terms of the civil-military relationship within the innermost circles of government, casting light on the realities of civilian-control. The essay’s thesis was very clear and contained two topics: “this is an essay not only about civilian control but about substance of military professionalism.” The thesis was very clear and directly associated with his three leading questions that were supported...
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...ional decorum in dealing with Ridgway through the end. Eisenhower’s vision of morality and concern for human life seemed to have escaped him in his willingness to pursue a national strategic policy –reduce the Army by exploiting nuclear weaponry in the form of “mass retaliation” to obliterate innocent civilians. Professionalism is not a matter just for the military; it is also a matter for the civilian authorities. Both must function in concert to enable the functionality of civil-military relations to attain both civilian control and an affective national security policy. that when professionalism is maintained between the highest echelons of civilian national authorities and senior ranking military officials, genuine control is attainable; without professionalism, there is a change in the balance of control – thus, making it difficult to assert control.
Notes:
This essay will evaluate Eisenhower’s moral judgement and ethical decision-making using three (of seven) ethical principles author Don Snider contends are applicable to all Army professionals. After evaluating Eisenhower’s integration of duty, loyalty and subordination, this analysis concludes that Eisenhower used appropriate ethical and moral judgement in his decision authorized the deal as Allied Commander. The first principle
1) The chapter 9, The Military Ascendancy, Mills discusses the increased presence of military personnel in high political positions. However, is this not what our country was founded on? Don’t we have a history of installing military personnel in almost all positions within our government? Only 12 of America’s 43 presidents have not served in the military, even congress has a larger percentage of veterans, compared to our population. Our history as a nation is built on military diplomacy, not professional diplomats. Have we not always used the “buddy-system” to leverage careers in politics? Why is this so surprising to Mills?
Stewart R. W. (2005). American Military History (Vol. 1). The United States Army and the
Theory. The term ‘civil-military relations’ is often used to describe the relationship between civil society and its associated military force, moreover the fundamental basis upon which the civilian authority exercises control over its military organization. It is generally accepted that ‘civilian control of the military is preferable to military control of the state’ and although there are states that do not conform to this norm, they tend to be less developed countries that have succumb to military interven...
Miller Center. (2009, May). American President: A reference resource. Retrieved November 2, 2011, from University of Virgina: http://millercenter.org/president/eisenhower/essays/biography/print
- - -, ed. "The Anti-War Movement in the United States." English.Illnois.edu. Ed. Oxford Companion to American Military History. 1st ed. Vers. 1. Rev. 1. Oxford Companion to American Military History, 1999. Web. 24 Feb. 2014. .
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The Battle of Antietam on September 17th, 1862 was the single, most bloodiest day in American History, where more than 23,000 men became casualties of war. General George Brinton McClellan’s inability to use Mission Command, as a warfighting function was a key reason this battle did not end the American Civil War. An analysis of General McClellan’s Mission Command operational process will show how his personality, bias, and fear were detrimental to the outcome of the Battle of Antietam.
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The US Army campaign issues in todays world are growing more relevant by the day. As a result it is increasingly important for the US Army to launched the Army White Paper the Profession of Arms. Have you ever hear about this campaign before and are you part of it? This white paper should meet a common understanding beyond the US Army soldiers, however the Army as a profession of arms it self. its has some meaning to fully understanding. In this essay, we are going to prove that the army as a profession of arms.
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Introduction “Leaders have always been generalists”. Tomorrow’s leaders will, very likely, have begun life as specialists, but to mature as leaders they must sooner or later climb out of the trenches of specialization and rise above the boundaries that separate the various segments of society.” (Gardner, 1990, pg. 159). The. In a recent verbal bout with my History of the Military Art professor, I contended that the true might of a nation may be inversely proportional to the size of its military during peacetime.
Snider, D. M. (2008). Dissent and strategic leadership of the military professions. Carlisle Barracks, PA: Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College.
The military became involved with politics for the betterment of Nigeria. The soldiers within the military believed they were supporting peace, providing economic stability, and respectable leadership within Africa (Agbeese 2004, 81). This, however, proved to not always be the case. The military dictatorships that ruled as a result of the coups were as corrupt as the civilians they overthrew. T...