Making Citizen-Soldiers

Michael S. Neiberg is the award-winning author of Potsdam: The End of World War II and the Remaking of Europe, Fighting the Great War, and Dance of the Furies: Europe and the Outbreak of World War I, among other books. He is Professor of History and the inaugural Chair of War Studies at the US Army War College.

• Introduction 1. ROTC and the American Military Tradition 2. A Favored Position on Campus: The Military and Higher Education in the Cold War Era, 1950-1964 3. The Origins of Postwar Dissatisfaction 4. The ROTC Vitalization Act, 1964-1968 5. ROTC from Tet to the All-Volunteer Forces 6. ROTC in the Era of the All-Volunteer Force, 1972-1980 7. A New Academic Program: ROTC, 1972-1980 Epilogue Abbreviations Notes Primary Sources Index

Who is in charge of our military? Where did they come from? While these questions may not press daily on the minds of most Americans, Making Citizen-Soldiers does not merely ask and answer them--it convinces us that these questions are critical to American democracy. In a focused, well-researched history of the Reserve Officer's Training Corps (ROTC), Michael Neiberg discusses the development of this program from 1950 to 1980. More importantly, he sets forth a convincing argument that ROTC, which populates the officer ranks of the military with graduates of civilian colleges, brings to fruition some of the most cherished ideas Americans have about how their military ought to be...So bravo to Neiberg for his success. I do hope a sequel is forthcoming, for he ended his study too soon. As it stands, Making Citizen-Soldiers is not only a well-written history of an important program, it is also a revealing exposition of bedrock American ideals. Like all good historical works, Making Citizen-Soldiers is insightful and important.