Various commissioned and noncommissioned Officers in the United States Army have had significant impacts on the military. The Generals of World War II, Patton, Eisenhower, Marshall, and Bradley, swiftly come to mind. There are, however, other Generals who left a lasting impact once their service was complete. One exceptional individual was General Creighton Abrams. His long stint in the US Army stretched to include positions served during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. During his time, he served as a Battalion Commander on various Corps level staffs, as Vice Chief of Staff, and as Chief of Staff during the later end of the Vietnam War. Although he introduced a multitude of doctrinal changes as the Chief of Staff, one prominent
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Soldiers were coming home from a war that most Americans did not want to happen. They were each individually blamed for war crimes seen in the States from heavily imbedded media outlets. Many still serving by the mid-1970s were brought in not as volunteers, but because of the draft. This resulted in exceptionally low morale and a lack of discipline at almost all ranks. During this time, 42 Officers in the Army and 14 in the Marine Corps were deliberately killed by their subordinates (Michaels, 2013). Additionally, “more than 200 servicemen died from drug overdoses during the war” (Michaels, 2013). When General Abrams assumed the position of Chief of Staff, he was charged with fixing these prominent issues. One of his answers was creating a permanently flagged Ranger unit in Georgia. Previously, Ranger elements were only temporarily established during times of conflict. Abrams’ Charter stated,
“The battalion is to be an elite, light and the most proficient infantry battalion in the world. A battalion that can do things with its hands and weapons better than anyone. The battalion will contain no “hoodlums or brigands” and if the battalion is formed from such persons it will be disbanded. Wherever the battalion goes, it must be apparent that it is the best” (Woods,
Soldiers were coming home from a war that most Americans did not want to happen. They were each individually blamed for war crimes seen in the States from heavily imbedded media outlets. Many still serving by the mid-1970s were brought in not as volunteers, but because of the draft. This resulted in exceptionally low morale and a lack of discipline at almost all ranks. During this time, 42 Officers in the Army and 14 in the Marine Corps were deliberately killed by their subordinates (Michaels, 2013). Additionally, “more than 200 servicemen died from drug overdoses during the war” (Michaels, 2013). When General Abrams assumed the position of Chief of Staff, he was charged with fixing these prominent issues. One of his answers was creating a permanently flagged Ranger unit in Georgia. Previously, Ranger elements were only temporarily established during times of conflict. Abrams’ Charter stated,
“The battalion is to be an elite, light and the most proficient infantry battalion in the world. A battalion that can do things with its hands and weapons better than anyone. The battalion will contain no “hoodlums or brigands” and if the battalion is formed from such persons it will be disbanded. Wherever the battalion goes, it must be apparent that it is the best” (Woods,