The Growth of the US Military - Research Paper Example

? The Growth of the U.S Military The Growth of the U.S Military The United s military has existed since 1775. During thefight for independence, the United States incepted the continental military in order to take responsibility of the revolutionary war of the time. In 1784, an official army came in to place to replace the continental army shortly after its disbandment. This gives the American army the longest existence in history. The first army won the war to independence although there was little professionalism. The American military has progressed from the unprofessional beginning to what it is today. In the 21st century, the American army has the largest defense budget in the world. The military makes use of advanced technology and is greatly organized. The military has participated actively in multiple wars since its inception. However, this paper will focus on the contribution of the Cold War and Vietnam War to the growth of the American military and highlight the current situation and organization of the army. The Cold War As the world war reached its conclusion, Russia had managed to control the Eastern Europe while the United States had gained control of the west. The west started a slow withdrawal from establishing an additional front in east Europe (Cowley, 2005). In addition, the United States resolved to discontinue aids to the Soviet Union after conclusion of World War II. These actions initiated tension between the two regions. Enmity was building in between the two world powers. Each of the global power had allies. One unique difference between the two countries is the fact that Russia believed in socialism while America was capitalistic and industrious. Most of the countries in Europe were struggling to rebuild their nations after the end of World War II in1945. The Soviet Union was determined to win allies among European countries and introduce communism. The US introduced the containment policy requiring the leaders of most of the countries to remain cautious so that the Soviet Union did not get space to introduce socialism (Levy, 2004). The Soviet Union had previously threatened to expand their socialist system. The Soviet Union believed that capitalism exploited people. In addition, the Great Britain collapse contributed to the start of the Cold War. Before its collapse, Britain brought about a balancing effect in west Europe. Now that Britain was out of the picture, the United States took over. It was evident that the United States and the Soviet Union had differing goals on reconstructing the world after the world war two and the different interests gave rise to a cold threat. Towards the conclusion of the World War II, the American military had succeeded in making the first nuclear bombs and bombed Japan, causing immense damage. There was an intense fear of the nuclear warfare and this heightened the tension between east Europe and the west. Both countries wanted to exert a form of social and political control in countries that depended on their aid. Truman declared the Cold War officially when he decided to give financial aid to Greece. The Cold War lasted for a long time. The USSR armies and US did not have direct attacks. However, countries in support of the United States formed a military alliance. This was the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). This organization reached the decision that the United States would attack if the Soviet Union extended its influence to any NATO country. Russia already had control over all Eastern Europe, except Yugoslavia. The Cold War constituted of many proxy wars such as Korean War, Vietnam war and others (Gaddis, 2011). The Cold War persisted for some time and the world still experiences the effects. During the 1970-1980s, the Soviet Union was coming down because of the financial crisis. The union lacked adequate finances to run the system. Russian political and social reforms that came under new leadership did not favor the survival of the union. In 1991, the union split and withdrew from the Cold War marking its end. The United States then obtained a monopoly in global control. It is the only existing global power (Gaddis, 2011). Effects of the Cold War on American Military The Cold War defined the organization, policies and spending of the American military since 1945. The military has a civilian control of a secretary of the military who works under the president to control five of the seven uniformed groups in the United States. The American military had suffered disorientation during the Second World War. At the start of the Cold War, the president ordered new recruits and extensive training. The military engaged extensively on the monopoly of nuclear weapon research that was an advantage to the American nation. In addition, the military spending kept increasing. Although President Truman did not support military spending exceeding fifteen billion, the Korean War raised that spending to more than forty billion dollars (Westad and Hanhimaki, 2004). During the Cold War, the military had an unending supply of weapons. In addition, the years of the Cold War saw the military dominate scientific research in universities. The country did not relent lest it loses and research into more advanced weapons was rigorous. The military intended to create more ballistic missiles and advance the nuclear weapon industry. In addition, the military increased its alliances with nuclear manufacturing companies (McCaslin, 2010). On a different note, the military indulged in excessive use of weapons and spending in the proxy wars of the Cold War. The military stipulated new policies especially concerning the containment concept that was Truman’s key strategy. It is worth noting that the United States did not experience any constraints economically during the Cold War. This explains why the military kept growing and advancing in research. Notably, each unit of the military advanced in organization and technology. During the Cold War, the military preferred the use of technology rather than recruiting more personnel. This was possible because during that time, military equipment were relatively cheaper. Therefore, the Cold War contributed positively to the innovation in the military. Most of the funding went to research and purchase of equipment. The Vietnam War The American military has faced a lot of criticism in its participation in the Vietnamese war for independence. The South Vietnam and North Vietnam were waging war against each other in the race to independence from the colonial powers (Hall, 2008). Indochina was a French colony before the World War II. Due to the displacement of the Second World War, Japan occupied the colony. Indochina consisted of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia and depended on the Viet Minh movement to fight for independence (Levy, 2004). The leader of the movement belonged to the communist camp and he started the war intended to drive away the Japanese. The political movement eventually defeated Japan and the colonial leaders left. However, the French rulers repossessed the region but the Viet Minh made sure that they signed an agreement that the colony would regain its independence as a constituent of the union of France. However, the union went sour and the French repossessed Hanoi using force. This led to the eruption of the first war in the Indochina colony. The Geneva government resolved the war between the two parties. The conclusion of the war led to division of the region into two. The northern communist region and the south that was non-communist. The United States ventured into the war because of the prevailing Cold War between the Soviet Union and capitalist states. Since the south was non-communist, the United States decided to give it military support. This was part of the US containment policy. The United States gave the French rulers in the south aids and military advice. In 1958, the United States facilitated training of the newly initiated Vietnam army. The United States tried its best to support the southern army but it proved weak and this led to the withdrawal of the United States (Lawrence, 2010). Effects of the Vietnam War to the American Military There was criticism of the American military and its actions in Vietnam. Some critics felt that the American military went too far and organized secret military attacks to North Vietnam. The military of the United States withdrew from the war in 1973 and critics consider this as a defeat because later, the communist took control of the south. The military lost its esteem because of the defeat. The department of defense faced serious accusations concerning the issue. Some Americans accused them of cynicism in their operations (Westheider, 2009). Some people blamed the president for exerting too much control over the military and committing it to unnecessary missions. In addition, the containment policy faced criticism. Some Americans claimed that their military did not have the responsibility of instituting democracy in the world. The civilians felt that the containment mission had gone too far. The Vietnam War presented a challenge to the American military. The American Military after the Cold War The American military advanced greatly in the Cold War period. In the post war period, the military has been indulging in wars although the 2001 terror attack awakened the innovation of the American military. The military makes use of trained personnel, technology, and the intelligence unit to carry out its operations. The war against terror has caused increase in the military budget and more discrete operations. The twenty first century has seen capture and execution of Saddam Hussein and the recent capture and killing of Osama bin Laden. The military relies on special operations in most of its ventures. The military has the largest number of soldiers in foreign assignment. Currently, it records the highest budget in defense globally. It does not use the atomic power due to the politics surrounding it but advanced technology and organization defines the American military of today. In conclusion, the American military has been here for long and has evolved to become a leader in security investment and innovation. The military has participated in several wars that have posed challenges that have led to the revolution of the military. The military is always prepared and indulges in discrete prediction of any internal or external terror. The military has a rigorous training for recruits and reserves for emergency cases. The Cold War and the Vietnam War contributed greatly towards the growth of the military. References Cowley, R. (2005). The Cold War: a military history. Michigan: University of Michigan. This book presents essays that describe the World War II. These essays describe the struggle of influence between the strongest militaries of the world. The essays highlight the socio-political and economical effects of the war. Different authors explore different aspects of the war and describe how the super powers almost ventured into the use of nuclear powers. Some essays reveal the circumstances of the military men and their families during the war. Gaddis, J. (2011). The Cold War. Westminster: Penguin Books Limited. Gaddis describes the events that occurred during the Cold War including the fall of the Soviet society. The book explores the wide spread of communism in east Europe. In addition, it s describes the Second World War events that contributed to the rise of the cold war. It also elaborates the rising conflicts between the super powers. At the end, it gives details of the collapse of the great Soviet Union and subsequent end of the cold war. Hall, M. (2008). The Vietnam War. Harlow: Pearson Longman. This book gives a good and simple introduction of the rise of the Vietnam War. It describes the contribution of the United States in detail. This book offers a simple description of the war in favorable language seeking to understand the details of the war. The author realizes the complexity of events that happened concurrently to give rise to the war and simplifies it for students. He describes all the war conflicts as well as the interests of the different parties. Lawrence, M. (2010). The Vietnam War: A Concise International History. Oxford: Oxford University Press. This book relates the role of America in the Vietnam War and gives insights on the contribution of different groups to the Vietnam independence war. Chapter 1 explores the reasons that moved the world powers to have interest in helping the Vietnamese nation on its fight towards independence. The chapters explore other factors that transformed the fight towards independence to a war. The author mentions decisions of the mid-twentieth century that resulted into the war. Levy, D. (2004). The Vietnam War. New York: Twenty-First Century Books. This book describes the containment policy of the United States in their efforts to curb the spread of communism. The author describes the history of the struggle of the cold war. The chapter describes the seizure of Vietnam. Chapter 4 describes the participation of America in the cold war. In the epilogue of the book, the author gives timelines of Vietnam War. In addition, the chapter describes the entry of America into the war in Vietnam. McCaslin, L. (2010). Secrets of the Cold War: US Army Europe's intelligence and counterintelligence activities against the Soviets during the Cold War. Philadelphia: Casemate Publishers. The author narrates true accounts of his witness of the struggle between the super powers of the world. The book reveals the secrets of the cold war from both the east and west, as he was a U.S military officer and reveals the actions of the enemy and then retaliation 9from the west. The author reveals the dirty games involved in spying. He also highlights the work of the intelligence unit and describes the discretion with which the unit works. Westad, O. & Hanhimaki, J. (2004). The Cold War: a history in documents and eyewitness accounts. Oxford: Oxford University Press. This book gives a collection of documents that give details of the Cold War events. It describes the participation of European leaders in detail. The book consists of nineteen chapters and each of these describes a major event in the cold war. Chapter 9 describes the technology and weapons used during the cold war. Chapter 10 describes the integration of Western Europe while chapter 8 elaborates the communism in Eastern Europe and China that was a main aspect of the war. Westheider, J. (2007). The Vietnam War. Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group. This book reveals the cynicism portrayed by the American military during the Vietnam War and the effects of the war on the reputation of the military. Chapter 1 tackles the circumstances under which the American military intervened into the Vietnam War and its interests. Subsequent chapters in the book illustrate the preparations prior to the war. Chapter 5 reveals the issues that resulted from the war displaying the cynicism that the military portrayed. Read More