Melvin Laird and the foundation of the post-Vietnam military, 1969-1973
By: Richard A. Hunt
Contributors: United States. Department of Defense. Historical Office
Series: Secretaries of Defense historical series -- volume VII
Publisher: Historical Office, Office of the Secretary of Defense
Published: 2015
Place of publication: Washington, D.C
Language: eng
Number of pages: 708
ISBN-13: 9780160927577
Subjects: Politics and government; United States; Vietnam War, 1961-1975; Biography; Officials and employees; United States. Department of Defense; Cabinet officers; Military policy; History
Description: "[E]xamines the former Congressman Melvin Laird's efforts to reconstitute the Department of Defense during the last years of the Vietnam war... Laird acted to mitigate the adverse effects of the Vietnam War on the department and to prepare the nation's armed forces for the future. Foremost was the transition from a conscripted military to an all-volunteer force, a fundamental policy shift that ended an unpopular and inequitable draft system."--from jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 669-683) and index.
Table of contents: title: Change comes to the Pentagon; title: Organizing national security in a new administration; title: How much for defense: the FY 1970 budget; title: The predicament of Vietnam; title: The battle over troop withdrawals; title: Taking the fight into Cambodia; title: The war in Laos; title: Preparing South Vietnam to stand alone; title: A time of trial: the Easter Offensive and Vietnamization; title: Looking beyond Vietnam: the FY 1971 budget; title: A turning point: the FY 1972 budget; title: The enduring commitment to NATO; title: Change in East Asia; title: The all-volunteer force; title: Strategic defense: ABM and SALT; title: Realistic deterrence? The FY 1973 budget; title: Military assistance; title: Looking toward the future: the FY 1974 budget; title: Fixing the fraying force; title: Laird's legacy.