The Collected Works Of The Thirty Second Chief Of Staff United States Army

A compilation of Sullivan's words and writings during the four years that he served as the U.S. Army's Chief-of-Staff, just after Operation Desert Storm. As Chief-of-Staff, the Army had to adapt to the challenges of new strategic realities and new pol'l. priorities: the end of the Cold War confrontation, a myriad of new missions during a time of declining resources, and emerging technologies that suggested revolutionary changes in warfare. Sullivan realized that the Army had to adapt to an ever-changing world while maintaining its professional edge, and in a way that preserved its values and its essence: service, commitment, and the individual soldier.

This is the story of how the United States Army responded to the challenges of the end of the Cold War by transforming itself into the most capable ground force in the world today. It argues that from 1989 through 2005 the U.S. Army attempted, and largely achieved, a centrally directed and institutionally driven transformation relevant to ground warfare that exploited Information Age technology, adapted to post?Cold War strategic circumstances, and integrated into parallel Department of Defense efforts. The process not only modernized equipment, it also substantially altered doctrine, organization, training, administrative and logistical practices, and the service culture. Kevlar Legions further contends that the digitized expeditionary Army has withstood the test of combat, performing superbly with respect to deployment and high-end conventional combat and capably with respect to low-intensity conflict and the counterinsurgency challenges of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Soldiers Are Our Credentials: The Collected Works and Selected Papers of the Thirty-third Chief of Staff, United States Army, contains the "raw material" of history-private papers, outlines, rough drafts, and e-mail correspondence prepared by General Dennis J. Reimer during his tenure as Army chief of staff. His collected works provide a useful and reliable starting point for exploring his thoughts and ideas on the major events and issues that occurred while in office from 1995 to 1999. For this reason, James Jay Carafano has selected those papers with the greatest historical significance and organized them chronologically to reveal both the unfolding events and the recurring themes so central to what Reimer calls strategic communications-being clear, focused, and consistent when communicating to the soldiers in the field, to Congress, and to the American people. This important anthology provides a valuable guide to this historic period. Those who choose to follow the trail will come to grips with one of the most remarkable and eventful chapters in the Army's history.