Description
Book SynopsisThis book shows how the US Army disoriented by the end of the Cold War and struggling to appease domestic culture wars spent the 1990s suffering from an identity crisis. This unique work will interest students and scholars of contemporary American military history.
Trade Review'What's an Army without an enemy? David Fitzgerald skilfully probes the predicament of the US military after the collapse of its Soviet nemesis and before an elusive new enemy-'terror'-took its place. Deeply researched and briskly paced, Uncertain Warriors uncovers a fraught decade of armed intervention overseas and culture war skirmishes at home. Essential reading for anyone looking to better understand the contradictions of contemporary America.' Susan Carruthers, author of Dear John: Love and Loyalty in America
'David Fitzgerald deftly situates the US Army of the 1990s within its tumultuous societal, political, technological, and bureaucratic context. He masterfully illustrates both the logic and contradictions within the army's response to these buffeting influences. The tensions within this mixed record would soon become evident in Iraq and Afghanistan.' J. P. Clark, author of Preparing for War: The Emergence of the Modern U.S. Army, 1815–1914
'Uncertain Warriors is a pathbreaking historical study of the US Army between the triumph of Desert Storm and the interminable Iraq-Afghanistan conflicts. Impressively researched, well written, and cogently argued, it deserves to be read by historians, officers, and all those interested in how military institutions adapt to revolutionary changes.' Brian McAllister Linn, author of Elvis's Army: Cold War GIs and the Atomic Battlefield
'Uncertain Warriors beautifully weaves together political, institutional, military, and social history to convincingly argue that U.S. Army's modern 'warrior ethos,' for better or worse, is as much a product of the Army's post-Cold War uncertainty as it is of 9/11 and the wars that came after.' Amy J. Rutenberg, author of Rough Draft: Cold War Military Manpower Policy and the Origins of Vietnam-Era Draft Resistance
Table of ContentsIntroduction – Warriors at the End of History; 1. The Post-Vietnam Recovery, Operation Desert Storm, and the Veneration of the Volunteer Soldier; 2. Gender, Sexuality, and the Profession of Arms: Don't Ask Don't Tell, Women in Combat and the 'Band of Brothers'; 3. Warriors Who Don't Fight: The Dilemmas of Peacekeeping Operations; 4. Downsizing, Recruiting and the Debates over Military Service; 5. Technological Transformation and the American Soldier; 6. The Warrior Ethos; Epilogue.
