History of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Volume One: The Formative Years: 1947-1950 - Fascinating Account of Post-War Decisions on Communist Threat, Atomic Weapons, Israel, NATO

Nonfiction, History, Military, Strategy, United States
Cover of the book History of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Volume One: The Formative Years: 1947-1950 - Fascinating Account of Post-War Decisions on Communist Threat, Atomic Weapons, Israel, NATO by Progressive Management, Progressive Management
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Progressive Management ISBN: 9781301315581
Publisher: Progressive Management Publication: July 4, 2013
Imprint: Smashwords Edition Language: English
Author: Progressive Management
ISBN: 9781301315581
Publisher: Progressive Management
Publication: July 4, 2013
Imprint: Smashwords Edition
Language: English

The first volume in an important new series that will provide a comprehensive history of the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), The Formative Years traces the evolution of OSD from its establishment in September 1947 to the outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950. As the title indicates, these were years of beginnings that ushered in the present-day era of service unification and saw the development of policies and programs that would have lasting impact on national security. A richly documented volume, it draws on a wide variety of primary and secondary sources to present a commanding account of the evolution of both defense organization and national security policy during the critical post-World War II years. The book opens with the swearing-in of the first Secretary of Defense, James Forrestal, who faced the dual challenge of effecting unification of the armed forces and of reconstituting U.S. defense policy to meet an increasing array of problems and threats abroad, the Cold War with the Soviet Union heading the list. As Forrestal discovered, to make unification work, he needed more authority and assistance than the 1947 National Security Act gave him. His successor, Louis Johnson, had the benefit of amendments in 1949 that enhanced the secretary's power. But like Forrestal, Johnson confronted fierce interservice competition for scarce funds and deeply divisive quarrels, especially between the Air Force and the Navy, over the assignment of roles and missions. A series of chapters on the making of the defense budgets for the period strikingly illuminates the intricate relationships among strategic policies, military programs, roles and missions, and money.
Problems abroad threatened to embroil the United States in conflicts for which it was largely unprepared. Students of foreign affairs will be especially interested in the chapters on assistance to Greece and Turkey under the Truman Doctrine, the partitioning of Palestine and the ensuing Arab-Israeli conflict, the civil war in China and its repercussions throughout the Far East, including the early stages of U.S. involvement in Vietnam, and the Berlin crisis of 1948-49, which nearly led to a military showdown with the Soviet Union. Subsequent chapters examine the development of the atomic energy program and growing U.S. reliance on nuclear weapons, the creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the origins of the worldwide Mutual Defense Assistance Program, and the drafting of NSC 68, the landmark policy paper that in 1950, on the eve of the Korean War, proposed an unprecedented program of peacetime rearmament.

17 September 1947 * From Hot War to Cold War * Strategy of Containment * State of Armed Forces * Road to Unification * National Security Act of 1947 * Unification Act on Trial * Office of the Secretary of Defense * Forrestal's Staff * Evolution of Staff Responsibilities * Changes Under Johnson * Congressional Liaison * Public Relations Front * Civil Defense Organization * Joint and Special Committees * Staff Agencies * Munitions Board * Research and Development Board * Nonstatutory Staff Agencies * Military Liaison Committee * OSD and National Security Structure * National Security Council * Relations with State Department * National Security Resources Board * Joint Chiefs of Staff * First Arab-Israeli War * Aid to Palestinian Refugees * Middle East Oil and Security * Crisis in China * Wedemeyer Mission * Question of Formosa * Spreading Turmoil in Asia * Japan Under U.S. Occupation * Divided Korea * Emerging Conflict in Southeast Asia * Berlin Crisis * Supercarrier—B-36 Controversy * Atomic Arsenal * Custody Dispute * Policy on Use of Atomic Weapons * Fission Bomb Production * H-Bomb Decision * Acceleration of H-Bomb Program * North Atlantic Alliance * Movement Toward an Alliance * Development of U.S. Policy * Expanding Military Collaboration * North Atlantic Treaty Alliance Organization

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The first volume in an important new series that will provide a comprehensive history of the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), The Formative Years traces the evolution of OSD from its establishment in September 1947 to the outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950. As the title indicates, these were years of beginnings that ushered in the present-day era of service unification and saw the development of policies and programs that would have lasting impact on national security. A richly documented volume, it draws on a wide variety of primary and secondary sources to present a commanding account of the evolution of both defense organization and national security policy during the critical post-World War II years. The book opens with the swearing-in of the first Secretary of Defense, James Forrestal, who faced the dual challenge of effecting unification of the armed forces and of reconstituting U.S. defense policy to meet an increasing array of problems and threats abroad, the Cold War with the Soviet Union heading the list. As Forrestal discovered, to make unification work, he needed more authority and assistance than the 1947 National Security Act gave him. His successor, Louis Johnson, had the benefit of amendments in 1949 that enhanced the secretary's power. But like Forrestal, Johnson confronted fierce interservice competition for scarce funds and deeply divisive quarrels, especially between the Air Force and the Navy, over the assignment of roles and missions. A series of chapters on the making of the defense budgets for the period strikingly illuminates the intricate relationships among strategic policies, military programs, roles and missions, and money.
Problems abroad threatened to embroil the United States in conflicts for which it was largely unprepared. Students of foreign affairs will be especially interested in the chapters on assistance to Greece and Turkey under the Truman Doctrine, the partitioning of Palestine and the ensuing Arab-Israeli conflict, the civil war in China and its repercussions throughout the Far East, including the early stages of U.S. involvement in Vietnam, and the Berlin crisis of 1948-49, which nearly led to a military showdown with the Soviet Union. Subsequent chapters examine the development of the atomic energy program and growing U.S. reliance on nuclear weapons, the creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the origins of the worldwide Mutual Defense Assistance Program, and the drafting of NSC 68, the landmark policy paper that in 1950, on the eve of the Korean War, proposed an unprecedented program of peacetime rearmament.

17 September 1947 * From Hot War to Cold War * Strategy of Containment * State of Armed Forces * Road to Unification * National Security Act of 1947 * Unification Act on Trial * Office of the Secretary of Defense * Forrestal's Staff * Evolution of Staff Responsibilities * Changes Under Johnson * Congressional Liaison * Public Relations Front * Civil Defense Organization * Joint and Special Committees * Staff Agencies * Munitions Board * Research and Development Board * Nonstatutory Staff Agencies * Military Liaison Committee * OSD and National Security Structure * National Security Council * Relations with State Department * National Security Resources Board * Joint Chiefs of Staff * First Arab-Israeli War * Aid to Palestinian Refugees * Middle East Oil and Security * Crisis in China * Wedemeyer Mission * Question of Formosa * Spreading Turmoil in Asia * Japan Under U.S. Occupation * Divided Korea * Emerging Conflict in Southeast Asia * Berlin Crisis * Supercarrier—B-36 Controversy * Atomic Arsenal * Custody Dispute * Policy on Use of Atomic Weapons * Fission Bomb Production * H-Bomb Decision * Acceleration of H-Bomb Program * North Atlantic Alliance * Movement Toward an Alliance * Development of U.S. Policy * Expanding Military Collaboration * North Atlantic Treaty Alliance Organization

More books from Progressive Management

Cover of the book Essential Guide to the Defense Security Service (DSS) - Personnel Security, Counterintelligence, Preventing Computer Espionage, Security Clearance, Improving Industrial Security by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Ready, Reliable, and Relevant: The Army Reserve Component (RC) as an Operational Reserve – Army National Guard, Mobilization Authority, Role in War on Terrorism, Total Force Policy by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Operational Initiative in Theory and Army Doctrine: Military Theory, Individual Initiative and Control to Achieve Objectives, Role of Positive Aim, Anticipation, and Relative Freedom of Action by Progressive Management
Cover of the book T-6A TEXAN II Systems Engineering Case Study: Derivative of PC-9 Pilatus Aircraft - JPATS Program, Training System, Hawker Beechcraft History by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Tactical Nuclear Weapons: Debunking the Mythology - Historical Context, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Limitations of Arms Control, Russian Nuclear Weapon Security, Proliferation by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Self-Protective Measures to Enhance Airlift Operations in Hostile Environments: Electronic Warfare, Radar, Airborne Interceptors, Infrared Tracking, Lasers, Directed-Energy by Progressive Management
Cover of the book 21st Century U.S. Military Documents: Air Force B-52 Bomber - Operations Procedures, Aircrew Evaluation Criteria, Aircrew Training Flying Operations by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Biopower Technical Strategy Workshop: Challenges to Expanded Use of Biopower, Technology Research, Feedstocks, Market Transformation by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Shooting Down a Star: Program 437, the U.S. Nuclear ASAT System and Present Day Copycat Killers - Anti-Satellite, Nike-Zeus, North Korea, India, Iran, China, Space Launch, Space Asset Vulnerability by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Aviation in the U.S. Army, 1919-1939: The Flying Circus, Planes versus Ships, the Air Corps, Airmail, Building an Air Force, Crew Training, Operations, Coastal Defense, Acrobatics, Civil Affairs by Progressive Management
Cover of the book 21st Century Pocket Guide to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point: USMA Programs, Admissions, Cadet Life, History by Progressive Management
Cover of the book NASA's Asteroid Redirect Mission, Asteroid Initiative, Grand Challenge, Science, Deflection and Human Exploration Plans, Crew Systems, Solar Electric Propulsion, NEO Campaign by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Brazil's Rise to Global Power: Bolsa Familia, Neoliberal Reform and Trade Partnerships, Military Capabilities, Defense Spending, Soft Power Projection, Role in International Organizations by Progressive Management
Cover of the book NASA's Space Shuttle Program: Astronaut Oral Histories (Set 3) - Leestma, Lenoir, Lounge, Lousma, Mattingly, Melroy, Mullane, Nagel, Nelson, O'Connor, Parker, Peterson - Columbia, Challenger Accidents by Progressive Management
Cover of the book 21st Century Ultimate Guide to Tornadoes and Severe Thunderstorms: Forecasting, Meteorology, Safety and Preparedness, Tornado History, Storm Spotting and Observation, Disaster Health Problems by Progressive Management
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy