The Culture of Military Organizations

Peter R. Mansoor, Retired Colonel, US Army, is the General Raymond E. Mason, Jr Chair of Military History at The Ohio State University. He assumed this position after a twenty-six year career in the US Army that culminated in his service as the executive officer to General David Petraeus, commanding general of Multi-National Force-Iraq, during the surge of US forces in 2007 and 2008. Williamson Murray is a Professor Emeritus of history at the Ohio State University. His work over the past fifty years focuses primarily on grand strategy, operations, and airpower. He has published numerous highly acclaimed works, including The Change in the European Balance of Power, 1938–1939: The Path to Ruin (1984), Strategy for Defeat: The Luftwaffe (1986), German Military Effectiveness (1992), The Air War in the Persian Gulf (1995) and A War to Be Won: Fighting the Second World War, 1937–1945 (2000).

• 1. Introduction Peter R. Mansoor and Williamson Murray; Part I. Theoretical Frameworks: 2. Culture and military organizations Leonard Wong and Stephen J. Gerras; 3. Strategic culture David Kilcullen; Part II. Land Forces: 4. Ulysses S. Grant and the culture of the Union Army of Tennessee Wayne Wei-siang Hsieh; 5. 'Playing a very bold game': the organizational culture of the Army of Northern Virginia, 1862–1865 Mark Grimsley; 6. German Army culture, 1871–1945 Jorit Wintjes; 7. The culture of the Indian Army, 1900–1947: an evolving identity Daniel Marston; 8. An army apart: the influence of culture on the Victorian British Army Richard Hart Sinnreich; 9. The culture of the British Army, 1914–1945 Williamson Murray; 10. Imperial Japanese Army culture, 1918–1945: duty heavier than a mountain, death lighter than a feather David Hunter-Chester; 11. Military culture, military efficiency, and the Red Army, 1917–1945 Reina Pennington; 12. An army like no other: the origins of the IDF's military culture Gil-li Vardi; 13. The weight of the shadow of the past: the organizational culture of the Iraqi Army, 1921–2003 Kevin M. Woods; 14. US Army culture, 1973–2017 Peter R. Mansoor; Part III. Maritime Forces: 15. The Royal Navy, 1900–1945: learning from disappointment Corbin Williamson; 16. US Navy cultural transformations, 1945–2017: the jury is still out John T. Kuehn; 17. The US Marine Corps, 1973–2017: cultural preservation in every place and clime Allan R. Millett; Part IV. Air Forces: 18. The culture of the Royal Air Force, 1918–1945 David Stubbs; 19. US Air Force culture, 1947–2017 Robert Farley; 20. Conclusion Peter R. Mansoor and Williamson Murray.

'The Culture of Military Organizations explains superbly the importance of military culture and clearly demonstrates how culture underpins the effectiveness of armed force. Culture, once formed, is difficult to change; it cannot always be 'tamed,' but it can and should be understood. This book makes an enormous contribution in helping to foster that understanding. The history is first-rate, the analysis incisive, and the conclusions of enormous value to military leaders and policy makers today.' General David Petraeus, US Army (Ret.), former commander of the surge in Iraq, US Central Command, and Coalition Forces in Afghanistan