Evolution Of The US Army

The Evolution of the US Army from the Cold War to Present
The evolution of the US Army from the Cold War through today has transformed from just a traditional army to a multifunctional army. That means the army can fight in all types of terrain and environments simultaneously and then transition immediately into a peace keeping force. The Army has undergone many changes since the Cold War in references to equal opportunity, civil rights, and sexual harassment.
During the Cold War the U.S.A.’s military was strong and big and was meant to be a deterrence. It was a race to keep up with Russia. Money was spent in excess on weapons development intended on a traditional war. Our adversaries were uniformed soldiers back by a recognized government, state vs. state and soldier vs soldier (Gorka, n.a., p. 31). As time progressed to today, the Cold War ended as we knew it in the 1950’s and new type of war started; a technology war. The same adversaries we had during the Cold War to include China are in another race for technology dominance. The US Army has adapted in responses with US Army cyberwar teams.
Further transformations in the area of actual combat arms has changed also.
Once the army was focused on the bigger the stronger the better (like a weight lifter in a gym), now today we area focused on light, mobile, agile, multi-environment warfare (The Role of Forward Presence 2017, p. 59-60). Today we are fighting unconventional armies and ideologies. These fighters don’t wear uniforms and usually don’t have a central government. Whereas, the Cold War had ample military budget, todays military works on budget and manning cuts regularly and is still expected to maintain the same readiness levels at all
times.
The US military as whole is a unique organization unlike any in this country when it comes to civil rights and equal opportunities. Since the Cold War the Army has continued to make equal opportunity a priority. On July 26, 1948 President Truman ended segregation in the US Armed Forces ("Executive Order 9981," n.a., p. 1). The armed forces also implemented policies concerning homosexuals. Before the 1990’s homosexuals were not allowed to serve and was asked if they were in fact homosexuals during the recruitment process. President Clinton went on to make the “don’t ask don’t tell policy” and President Obama allowed homosexuals to serve openly.
As the Army struggles back and forth with government budgets and troop levels, the Army continues to be the example of how our society evolves. The military takes men and women from all back grounds and instills a code of ethics to live by. It’s not perfect by any means, but the Army adapts faster to change than our society does. The changes in this area have only progressed since the Cold War and continue to this day.
The adaptation to social changes in our military proves to be essential as the military has transitioned from having to fight conventional warfare to non-state counter insurgency, counter piracy, technology warfare, and peace keeping operations. With the globalized economy in high demand for natural resources, this requires our Army to adapt to a constant changing military environment. Since the Cold War to today, the US military continues to be a global leader in military strength, civil rights, and equal opportunity.