The U.S. Army Prepares for Atomic War: A Study in Transformation

Although all but forgotten today, the US Army’s effort to field ground forces capable of waging atomic war was probably its greatest transformation initiative. In barely a decade the Army developed a concept of war, implemented a radical change in force structure, designed and fielded revolutionary equipment, and conducted some of the largest peacetime exercises in its history. This military transformation was equaled by an even greater social transformation. Conscription and integration made the Army the nation’s most racially, economically, regionally, and religiously diverse institution. This talk will trace the origin and evolution of the Army’s transformation towards atomic war. It will detail the revolutionary reforms the Army undertook and discuss some of the reasons this experiment ultimately failed.