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Much has changed in the 50 years since Samuel Huntington wrote The Soldier and the State: The Theory and Politics of Civil-Military Relations. The prospect of a large standing army in peacetime is no longer viewed as an aberration but as the normal state of affairs. Furthermore, this force is no longer conscript-based, but totally professional; Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines are all volunteers, adequately paid, and many serve full careers through retirement., Published in Joint Force Quarterly (JFQ), v45 p104-110, 2nd Quarter 2007.

This report paper expresses concern that the training of Army officers does not produce sufficient warfighters in relationship to managers or pilots. Proper historical examples are used throughout. Almost certainly since the turn of the century our Army has switched from a militia and began a deliberate and evolutionary process to create a profession of arms. No longer can our nation survive without a professional Army. Our constitution is a vision of 18th Century liberalism. The requirement for a large standing armed force is still only accepted reluctantly. The Army's need for leadership is still trapped in the double entante of meeting the demands of nation building while the nation is at peace and warfighting when the nation is at war. Our historical tradition has always been the public dismantles the Army and the concept of the profession of arms after each war. Dreams of peace, however unwarranted in the face of reality are reason enough to disarm and live the life of business pacifism. Our faith continues to be place in the Minuteman concept of our nation in arms.