A "hollow army" reappraised : President Carter, defense budgets, and the politics of military readiness / Frank L. Jones.

Format:

Book

Government document

Author/Creator:

Jones, Frank L. (Frank Leith), author.

Contributor:

Army War College (U.S.). Strategic Studies Institute, issuing body.

Series:

Letort papers

Letort paper

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Carter, Jimmy, 1924-2024--Military leadership.

Carter, Jimmy.

United States. Army--Operational readiness--History--20th century.

United States.

United States. Army--Appropriations and expenditures--History--20th century.

United States. Army--Organization--History--20th century.

Carter, Jimmy, 1924-2024.

United States. Army.

United States--Armed Forces--Operational readiness--History--20th century.

United States--Armed Forces--Appropriations and expenditures--History--20th century.

United States--Armed Forces--Organization--History--20th century.

United States--Military policy.

Command of troops.

Armed Forces--Appropriations and expenditures.

Armed Forces--Operational readiness.

Armed Forces--Organization.

Military policy.

Genre:

History

Physical Description:

1 online resource (ix, 65 pages).

Place of Publication:

Carlisle, PA : Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College, 2012.

Summary:

For more than 3 decades, the term "hollow army" or the more expansive idiom, "hollow force," has represented President Carter's alleged willingness to allow American military capability to deteriorate in the face of growing Soviet capability. The phrase continues to resonate today. In this current period of declining defense resources, the President of the United States, the Secretary of Defense, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff have articulated how the newly released strategic guidance and budget priorities signify a concerted effort not to "hollow out" U.S. forces. They have affirmed their dedication to preventing the recreation of the ragged military and disastrous deterioration in defense capability the Carter administration allowed to occur. However, it is also time to reexamine the term "hollow army" and its meaning as the inevitable tug of war over defense spending gets underway. This Paper places the "hollow army" metaphor within its historical context: barely 5 years after the United States finally disengaged from a major war (Vietnam), a struggling economy, and an election year in which a President was not only tenuously leading in the polls, but also confronted substantial opposition from elements of his own political party. Over the years, a specific political reading of these events has taken hold. It is the purpose of this Paper to re-read the historical events, and in doing so, come to a better understanding of the domestic political and geostrategic environment during Carter's presidency, the U.S. Cold War strategy, and the assertions made concerning the readiness of the U.S. Army to perform its missions

Contents:

Setting the stage

What does hollow mean?

Carter's defense policy

Carter's defense budgets

Recruiting the all-volunteer force

Assessing readiness

Modernizing the force

Contextualizing the "hollow army"

Neutral competency and the "hollow army"

Interpreting the "hollow army."

Notes:

"October 2012."

In scope of the U.S. Government Publishing Office Cataloging and Indexing Program (C&I) and Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP).

Includes bibliographical references (pages 51-65).

Electronic reproduction. [Place of publication not identified] : HathiTrust Digital Library, 2018.

Online resource; title from PDF title page (USAWC website, viewed May 7, 2025).

Other Format:

Print version: Jones, Frank L. "Hollow army" reappraised.

OCLC:

1019544013

Access Restriction:

Use copy Restrictions unspecified