After witnessing the raising of the American Flag by Marines on the Japanese island stronghold of Iwo Jima in 1945, Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal turned to Marine General Holland “Howling Mad” Smith to exclaim, “The raising of the flag on Iwo Jima guarantees the Marine Corps for the next 500 years.” Unfortunately, Secretary Forrestal was unaware of another battle that had already begun in the halls of the Pentagon, the committee rooms of Congress, and in the court of public opinion that would threaten the existence of the Marine Corps less than a year after the heroic events on that south pacific island. As America emerged from World War Two, the call for economic responsibility became the top priority for all corners of government.
…show more content…
None of the service branches were as threatened as the Marine Corps, whose leadership had to overcome political pressure and service rivalries in order to simply survive the military unification process without being absorbed into one of the larger services. Marine Corps leadership guided the survival of the United States Marine Corps by initially recognizing the historical events and disputes that had turn brothers-in-arms into the political enemy, then by engaging these advisories in two key fights, which led to the protection of the service as a viable warfighting organization. First, the Marine Corps engaged in a political fight to ensure it received a statutory mission in the National Security Act of 1947, the major legislative act that defined the military unification. Second, Marine Corps leadership had to reengage the fight when it became apparent that individuals were circumnavigation the National Security Act 1947 to continue to threaten the Marine Corps. This continued threat lead to the political allies of the Marine Corps passing the Douglas-Mansfield Act, which would become Public Law 416, guaranteeing the size of the Marine …show more content…
This book centers on the political fight that lost sight of its goal of military efficiency because of the contributions of special interests more dedicated to a small piece of the unification battle vice to the USA as a whole. The Marine Corps chowder society falls into this special interest category. Caraley provides detailed information on the key players on each side of the debate to include the plans each side had for the post-unification military. However, the book points out the National Security Act of 1947 broke down before its passage due to the political agendas of the personnel involved. Instead of exploring the ramifications of the break down, Caraley ends his research by simply declaring the Act a
None of the service branches were as threatened as the Marine Corps, whose leadership had to overcome political pressure and service rivalries in order to simply survive the military unification process without being absorbed into one of the larger services. Marine Corps leadership guided the survival of the United States Marine Corps by initially recognizing the historical events and disputes that had turn brothers-in-arms into the political enemy, then by engaging these advisories in two key fights, which led to the protection of the service as a viable warfighting organization. First, the Marine Corps engaged in a political fight to ensure it received a statutory mission in the National Security Act of 1947, the major legislative act that defined the military unification. Second, Marine Corps leadership had to reengage the fight when it became apparent that individuals were circumnavigation the National Security Act 1947 to continue to threaten the Marine Corps. This continued threat lead to the political allies of the Marine Corps passing the Douglas-Mansfield Act, which would become Public Law 416, guaranteeing the size of the Marine …show more content…
This book centers on the political fight that lost sight of its goal of military efficiency because of the contributions of special interests more dedicated to a small piece of the unification battle vice to the USA as a whole. The Marine Corps chowder society falls into this special interest category. Caraley provides detailed information on the key players on each side of the debate to include the plans each side had for the post-unification military. However, the book points out the National Security Act of 1947 broke down before its passage due to the political agendas of the personnel involved. Instead of exploring the ramifications of the break down, Caraley ends his research by simply declaring the Act a