In the ten years following the end of the Cold War, the Army underwent a period of extreme stress and transition. The force was downsized by roughly one-third and lost the focus formerly provided by the existence of a powerful peer competitor. It was given new missions, particularly in the area of peace support operations and humanitarian assistance as well as expanded requirements to provide aid to civilian authorities for disaster relief. At the same time, the Army endeavored to maintain its preoccupation with future contingencies involving traditional war-fighting. Obviously, the attention of the Army and the nation as a whole shifted dramatically following the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001. In the coming months and years the American Army must continue to deal with multiple tasks of enormous complexity. As a profession it must maintain its expertise and capabilities in traditional war-fighting in addition to the other than war missions of the past decade. The Army must also accept the reality of a new war on terrorism and asymmetric threats to the security of the nation.

Martin, Gregg F., and Jeffrey D. McCausland. The Role of Strategic Leaders for the Future Army Profession. In The Future of the Army Profession, edited by Lloyd J. Matthews, 425-438. Boston: McGraw-Hill Primis Custom Publishing, 2002.

Jeffrey McCausland is a visiting professor of International Security Studies at Dickinson College.

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