Wars throughout Time Essay -- essays research papers

Sometime during the course of World War II, the get together States became the most powerful farming in the cosmos. During the last two century or so years, the United States has fought ten major wars and innumerable littler military actions. For the most part it has been successful, in some instances defeating some of the worlds most powerful countries. In other instances it has simply been lucky. A common threat throughout the nations existence has been the hold of indifference and neglect. Between wars the Army shrinks to a precise small size. coin and attention almost disappear. This policy of the US Army may closely indeed danger the nations safety in the coming(prenominal) force strength includes not plainly the Army, but sea and mien power as well which will not be considered here. The resources of a country such as population, size, wealth, and factories all contribute to a nations military might and to how fast it might be expanded. Military power for ground force s has traditionally been measured in terms uniform regi manpowerts, brigades, divisions, corps, and armies. In addition, an important distinction exists between the Regular Army (the standing(prenominal) establishment officered with West Point graduates), the militia (very important to the nations military strength for the first hundred years, local part-time units), and the case Guard or Reserves (in modern times a slopped back-up to the Regular Army). The combined sizes of these forces have fluctuated widely when the nation has been at a threat of war.It was very important that they created an Army during the American Revolutionary War. The colonists had militias, which fought with the British against the French and Indians. besides the revolt against England demanded much more. The Americans who wanted independence gave it a maximum effort. The population of the colonies moreover numbered 3,000,000 in 1775. Of the available manpower, a very large proportion either fought wi th the British or stayed neutral. So for an estimated 184,000 men to have fought for the new nation in the first place the war ended in 1783, the remainder had to contribute a lot. (Almanac 209)The new government was disorganized and needed m maveny. Nevertheless, it created the Continental Army. It was organized as infantry in m whatever regiments of about(predicate) 800 men each. At any one time there were only about 15-20,0... ...ar II was the turning point. The rest of the world started fighting two years before Pearl Harbor. This gave the U.S. the time to expand its Army. It just barely did so (remember the Draft Act passing by one vote). favorable fortune and luck allowed the policy of tiny peacetime army to work one more time.The Cold War changed this forever, reinforced by tough lesson in Korea. In the time since then, the state of the world and technology demands that Army not plan a grace period to expand. It has to plan to meet a potential crises with what it has rea dy. Technology has dropped the need for large numbers of divisions and fighting troops. But technology has conversely demanded that stockpiles of equipment and training be at high levels at all times. Future wars will be over long before new orders for weapons like cruise missiles can be placed. The best way of life to prepare for the present is to learn and correct our mistakes from the past. The cost may be high, but the world remains a dangerous environment. Today the U.S. mustiness have a ready-to-use Army of a size sufficient for any conflict ahead. This was not always true in the past.