Understanding the U.S. Military

This book offers an accessible introduction to the U.S. military as an institution and provides insights into the military’s structure and norms.

Designed for undergraduate students, the book offers an interdisciplinary overview of America’s armed forces through three critical lenses. First, it introduces the military’s constitutional and historical context. Second, it presents concise factual information chosen for its relevance to the military’s structures, procedures, norms, and varied activities. Finally, it intersperses these facts with debates, theories, and questions to spark student interest, class discussion, and further research. The text is written for the beginner but covers complex topics such as force structure and the defense budget. With contributions informed by both scholarly approaches and long military careers, the book will prepare students for further studies in international relations, civil-military relations, or U.S. foreign policy. It also encourages critical thinking, elucidating an institution that undergraduates and other civilians too often perceive as both baffling and above reproach.

This book will be of much interest to students of the U.S. military, civil-military relations, U.S. politics, and public policy.

Katherine Carroll is a non-tenure track associate professor at Vanderbilt University where she teaches courses on the U.S. military, the Iraq War, and the Middle East in the Department of Political Science. She is also the associate director of Vanderbilt’s Program in Public Policy Studies.

William B. Hickman is a retired Major General in the U.S. Army, with extensive experience supporting our European Allies, deployments in support of operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Middle East, and strategic and operational assignments focused on U.S. national security.