Author Description

The all-volunteer force, the historic norm in peacetime America from the colonial era to the eve of WW2, was reestablished in the U.S. in June 1973, when induction authority expired. Since then, 20 years of success also obscure the difficulties of the services' transition, especially that of the Army, from virtual dependency on the draft to a manpower system based on volunteerism. This transition was accomplished nearly simultaneous with the withdrawal from Vietnam & the subsequent partial demobilization. This volume takes us through those turbulent years of transition, examining both the broad context in which the end of the draft occurred & the less well known perspective which the Army's leaders brought to bear on the challenge they faced. Illus.