The Value of Military History - Research Paper Example

? Military History Paper The value of military history cannot be overestimated. When army professionals take time to study military history, there are many incentives that they can gain when undertaking this study. Military history enables army professionals to understand the process of decision making because they can learn from mistakes made in the Civil War of 1800s. In addition, military history enables army professionals to gain more skills in managing threats. This military history also documents new tactics of combating threats such as improvised, explosive devices, which were not there during the Second World War. Army professional can draw from military history how areas such as casualty evacuation were managed during the Vietnam War as compared to the Civil war. Moreover, military history also enables army professionals to promote the continuity of this history by learning its value. These incentives reinforce why army professional should study military history. Introduction Winning a war requires a combination of factors, and military history is part these forces. Being in the army calls for a rich understanding of military history, which dates back to hundreds of years (Jessup, Robert, & Coakley, 2005). Today, there are few people who see the value of military history. Instead, many people believe that study of military history has no place in the current world, where war is modernized and fought using sophisticated arms. Needless to say, there are many incentives that military professional can gain through the study of military history. The United States has a collection of chronological records detailing the experiences of soldiers, war events and development of arms that add to the rich history of its military history. Overlooking these resources is not welcome, particularly when military professionals do not take time from their busy schedules to glean from these records. While many military professionals remain deployed in various hot spots, taking the time to study military history has the potential of increasing their success in war. Through the study of military history, army professionals can learn how to make appropriate decisions, manage situations in war, engage threats in war, and promote continuity of military history. Value of Military History Managing war The role of military history in teaching army professionals how to manage wars cannot be underestimated. Professional army personnel must be ready to understand how wars are managed in order to achieve defined objectives. The methodology to manage wars is an essential aspect of military history. This is because those studying military histories can see those gains made by other soldiers and reflect on them. Possibly, these army professionals can gain new insights on how war and surrounding situation can be managed to produce outcomes that align with desired objectives. For instance, there are many aspects of management that army professional can learn from history. During the Vietnam War, the United States army made significant gains by making one of the most lauded evacuation programs in military history. Military history books detail that the United States army used helicopters to conduct aeromedical evacuation that helped save the lives of many soldiers in the war. Army professionals taking military history can study this literature in depth and gain a thorough understanding of how these evacuations were possible. When studying this information, military professionals would appreciate that such services were available during the American Civil war where many solider died of their wounds (Britannica Educational Pub, 2010). Certainly, military professionals who study military history will understand the value casualty management and other facets of war. Decision making Studying military history has the potential of improving the ability of army professional to make correct decisions. Decision-making is an art that requires perfection over time. Nonetheless, reading military history can bolster one’s understanding of how decisions are made and their possible outcomes. Decision-making process exists in a continuum and does take place before and during the campaigns. When army professionals study military history, it is more likely that they will learn from accounts of poor decision making strategy. This can help them get a better understanding of how to make decisions best that will affect the success of a military campaign, and save the lives of men and women in the war. During the Civil war the role of Braxton Bragg and other generals who made wrong decisions, remains as exemplary outcomes of a wrong decision-making process (McManus, 2007). While Bragg led many soldiers under him, many of his soldiers saw him as incompetent and found him having made wrong decisions. This made soldiers under him to revolt eventually making him leave his position. This piece of information from military history can provide significant benefits to army professionals, especially when compared to current campaigns. In addition, the conduct of generals and soldier in military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan has made the United States recognize the value of an ethical decision-making process. Despite the mentioning of few instances where the United States army has tortured war prisoners, the overall conduct of soldiers has improved because of correct decision made during the war. Consequently, this information can equip soldier with the appropriate understanding that decision making process must align not only with rules, but with ethical expectation of the soldiers. Another aspect of decision making concerns the use of data to support tactical decision during combat. For army professionals with no background in military history, the value of current decision support tools may not be obvious. However, military history can provide army professional with a solid awareness on the decision support tools that are in use today. Most importantly, it will also provide them with a glimpse at current military hardware that has revolutionized that art of decision-making processes among soldiers. Just to illustrate, the current hardware available to soldiers is not comparable to those available during the Second World War. The recent war in Iraq provided an opportunity for the development and use of novel tools that have improved decision-making process in a tremendous way. To gain skills necessary in making correct decision, army military professionals should take time off their busy schedules to study military history. Engaging threats Military history provides heroic accounts of how armies have engaged threats using various strategies. Engaging threats still remains of the primary focus on military campaigns. However, management of threats has been evolving due to the emergence of new threats that soldiers must contain to ensure the survival. While reading military history, military professionals can gain a better understanding of the evolving nature of engaging threat. In the American Civil war, the Southerners did not pose an immense threat to the Northerners. However, things changed with the introduction of new arms. In recent campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States army had to fight with a highly trained militia and insurgent groups. Most importantly, the United States was forced to fight other threats such as the improvised explosive devices that claimed a significant number of American soldiers (Wehrey, 2010). Without awareness of the existence of this threat and how to curb them, army professionals are likely to face challenges when addressing new military campaigns. This can lead to lack of effectiveness of soldiers during military campaigns. The cost of this can be more than what the American army experienced in Vietnam. In this War, the American army recorded a significant loss of lives and machines in a war that the enemy kept making gains against South Vietnam. The use of new tactics in engaging threats has ushered the United States army into a new era of sophistication. With an increase of remote threats and existence of terror cells around the World, the United States army has deployed unmanned aerial vehicle such as the famous drones that has helped kill many insurgents in Pakistan. The rise of the drone has made it easier for the United States’ army to carry out reconnaissance in remote areas where soldiers cannot access (Yenne, 2004). This tactic has made the United State achieve meaningful strides in combatting threats. Through military history, it is possible to understand the history of drones and other similar technologies that have improved combat conditions. With a focus on use of recent technologies like drones in Afghanistan and Iraq, studying military history can provide army professionals with the understanding of how current warfare condition differs compared to those in the past, such as the Second World War where less sophisticated tools were in use. Ultimately, army professions will gain an appreciable level of understanding the need to develop new forms of engaging threats. Promoting continuity of military history Studying military history plays a fundamental role of equipping army professionals with the necessary military knowledge that will promote the continuity of this history. Just like any field of learning, students have the capacity to propagate information through time by serving as custodians. During the American civil war, a few American soldiers had the opportunity to document the events of the war and other useful information. Nonetheless, more information has been gathered in recent wars such as significant events in Iraq, which have since provided critical awareness on the successes and challenges of the war. This implies that army professionals can play a valuable role in creating new content for the American military history. Such an attempt will not only create enthusiasm among army professionals, but also ensure that military history remains a subject that will continue to draw interest from army professionals now and in the future (Jessup, Coakley,& Robert, 2005). Conclusion Army professionals who leave their busy schedules to study military history can gain valuable incentives. First, these professionals will learn the best ways of managing wars by reviewing lessons learnt from Vietnam. They can also learn how to make correct decisions in war drawing experiences from generals like Bragg who had short careers in the army because of their conduct. Through military history, army professions can also learn how to engage threats using new techniques, such as drones and further contribute to the same history. Given these incentives, it is critical that army professionals take time and study the rich military history. Ultimately, military history program should be made an essential requirement in the army. References Britannica Educational Pub (2010). The American Civil War and Reconstruction people, politics, and power. New York: Britannica Educational Pub. in assoc. with Rosen Educational Services. Jessup, J. & Coakley, R., Robert, W. (2005). A Guide to the Study and Use of Military History. Washington: US Government Printing Office. McManus, J. (2007). U.S. military history for dummies. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley. Wehrey, F. & Kaye, D. (2010). The Iraq Effect. Santa Monica: Rand. Yenne, B. (2004). Attack of the drones: a history of unmanned aerial combat. St.Paul, MN: MBI Pub. Co. Read More