By Lt. Gen. Antonio Aguto Jr. September 8, 2021. In most cases, they probably also desire to see the scope of their power expanded and their pay increased. Of course the states . An ambitious man who may have the army at his devotion, may step up into the throne, and seize upon absolute power. In four of these essays (numbers 1, 8, 9, 10), he explains how the establishment and maintenance of standing armies breeds fear, is destructive to liberty, and should be viewed as a scourge to a country instead of a benefit. Here are 10 of the most dangerous: 1. It found that it was literally impossible for Army officers to meet all the requirements imposed on them by higher headquarters, yet also found that failing to meet those same requirements was professionally unacceptable. As the new Congress prepares to convene in January, it will face few tasks, if any, more important than adequately funding our nation's defense . The Changing of the Guard offers us some rich ethnographic insights into this world. 10 reasons US military strength remains essential | The Hill In deploying to the new theater of Iraq, the British Army was impeded by friction caused by its own logistical shortcomings and the churn of its rigid training cycle. Besides being useless, as having no object of employment, they are inconvenient and expensive. Yet, on a training exercise in a phony war, it was applauded by his superiors and quickly assumed its place among his regiments tribal myths. 296 likes, 0 comments - SHIRLEY (@official_shirleycurvy) on Instagram: "Well seems everyone is scared and don't wanna talk about it i will just drop the matter as . James Madison, The Father of the Constitution, voiced his concern as well: A standing military force, with an overgrown Executive will not long be safe companions to liberty. Were armies to be raised whenever a speck of war is visible in our horizon, we never should have been without them. He was a trial attorney for twelve years in Texas. Six Ways to Fix the Army's Culture - War on the Rocks In his third letter, he lamented that under the new Constitution Congress will have unlimited power to raise armies, and to engage officers and men for any number of years. He then voiced his objection to standing armies: I see so many men in American fond of a standing army, and especially among those who probably will have a large share in administering the federal system; it is very evident to me, that we shall have a large standing army as soon as the monies to support them can be possibly found. In the decade before the Declaration of Independence, Parliament passed a series of acts intended to raise money within the colonies. Spending time earning a civilian graduate degree, teaching at West Point, or serving in a broadening assignment away from troops was quietly denigrated as taking a knee and often harmed the career prospects of those who had done so. Yet on the future battlefield, where communications networks are likely to be degraded, even Army junior leaders will have to be comfortable operating with unparalleled autonomy, guided only by their understanding of mission and intent. War was costly. The beliefs that grew organically from their experiences with the British also help explain Madisons passionate anti-military rhetoric (he would later refer to the establishment of a standing army under the new Constitution as a calamity, albeit an inevitable one); together, they cast a long shadow over the debates surrounding the kind of military the new nation would provide for itself. Shaw was conscious of the convoluted command arrangements he was to face, writes Akam, and so he used his personal contacts to secure a meeting with Nigel Sheinwald, Tony Blairs foreign policy chief at Number 10 Downing Street. Thus, as a practical matter the soldiers supreme loyalty is to the president, his commander in chief, not the Constitution. This is the more remarkable, because even when the distresses of the late war and the evident disaffection of many citizens of that description inflamed our passions, and when every person who was obliged to risk his own life must have been exasperated against such as on any account kept back from the common danger, yet even then, when outrage and violence might have been expected, the rights of conscience were held sacred. 3. Colonials who fought victoriously alongside British redcoats in the Seven Years War concluded that the ranks of British redcoats were generally filled with coarse, profane drunkards; even the successful conclusion of that conflict served to confirm colonists starkly negative attitudes towards the institution of a standing army. The liberties of a people are in danger from a large standing army, not only because the rulers may employ them for the purposes of supporting themselves in any usurpations of power, which they may see proper to exercise, but there is great hazard, that any army will subvert the forms of the . The monetary costs that maintained the army were spread out over the entire populace and those who demanded the armys services paid no additional price. In his seminal work The Strategy Bridge, the late strategic thinker Colin S. Gray also emphasized that there can be no escaping the fact that if a strategist is convinced that the extant strategy is failing, or missing from action, his message to his political masters must be that their policy must alter. An inability to challenge group think plagued the upper echelons of the British Army during the post-9/11 wars, and it would have profound strategic and geopolitical consequences for the United Kingdom. 5 Reasons Not to Join the Military | Military.com GOD has so separated us by an extensive ocean from the rest of mankind, he hath so liberally endowed us with privileges, and so abundantly taught us to esteem them precious, it would be impossible, while we retain our integrity and advert to first principles, for any nation whatever to subdue us. Matt Jennings. The Scots Dragoon Guards were there in May 2002 to wage simulated battles against a peer opponent a force led and organized in their own image. 2022.7.1; prince of wales hospital hong kong address; Tweet; Share +1; Today, China's military has an increasingly impressive high-tech arsenal, but its ability to use these weapons and equipment remains unclear. They largely shared the perspective of James Burgh, who, in his Political Disquisitions (1774), called a "standing army in times of peace, one of the most hurtful, and most dangerous of abuses . Would not a well regulated militia, duly trained to discipline, afford ample security? Violence against the troops escalated and reached a strategic tipping point in 2007. But it's an aspect of their work which is widely ignored - even by the soldiers themselves - and this can cause them great . Akam is at his best when he recounts British difficulties in Basra between 2006 and 2008. All too often, government-produced defense is discussed as an ideala force that protects people and their rights. The Army should also reinstate the requirement for every career officer to develop skills in two specialties, rather than to focus narrowly on one. Some people like where they live and have no desire to travel the world at someone else's expense. The reasons for invading Iraq seemed disingenuous, at best. 2. By the bill of rights of Pennsylvania he is bound only to pay an equivalent for his personal service. A large standing army is repugnant to republican institutions and a menace to the liberty of our own people. In June of 1787, James Madison addressed the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia on the dangers of a permanent army. When Maj. Gen. Jonathan Shaw, the Parachute Regiment officer who had previously led the United Kingdoms special forces, found himself taking over command from Maj. Gen. Richard Shirreff in 2007, he was well attuned to the complexity of the security situation. Military Leadership. Its not that white settlers always felt warm feelings toward native Americans (or vice versa). Why can't the Army teach Infantry NCOs to actually lead instead of just torturing us? But Old Whig had another problem with federal control over the militia: Let us instance one thing arising from this right of organizing and governing the militia. As tensions between the colonies and the crown escalated, many colonists came to view the British army as both a symbol and a cause of Parliaments unpopular policies. Armies at war kill people and destroy things, and their leaders must master that chaotic and risky business in peacetime. With the full support of the Pentagon and the CIA, Pinochet used his troops, which faithfully and obediently followed his orders, to round up tens of thousands of people, torture them, abuse them, and execute and assassinate thousands of them. Gen. Creighton Abrams, the legendary leader tasked with reorganizing our Army into an all-volunteer force after the . Nor is it conceived needful or safe that a standing army should be kept up in time of peace. When asked about his own feelings about working with a potentially deadly pathogen, Woods says, "Fear and panic become just as dangerous as the pathogen itself.". Accept More Risk. The militia of Pennsylvania may be marched to New England or Virginia to quell an insurrection occasioned by the most galling oppression, and aided by the standing army, they will no doubt be successful in subduing their liberty and independency. But in so doing, although the magnanimity of their minds will be extinguished, yet the meaner passions of resentment and revenge will be increased, and these in turn will be the ready and obedient instruments of despotism to enslave the others; and that with an irritated vengeance. If unquestioned integrity is to remain a cornerstone of the Army profession, senior leaders must aggressively correct this very serious problem. Advocates of a large standing army generally consider the former to be an isolated incident and the latter to be justified. Their position stemmed from three main beliefs: a general skepticism of and opposition to standing armies, a commitment to citizen militias as a check on despotic power, and, finally, the belief that a virtuous population owned property and bore arms. The inability to manage risk prudently and underwrite smart risk-taking by subordinate leaders deeply corrodes the trust that enables mission command the Armys warfighting philosophy built around decentralized command and control. why is it dangerous to have a peacetime army? A Standing Army in Peacetime with Alexander Hamilton - Federalist #25 1. There are reasons to be skeptical. More important, the English recognized the advantage of being on friendly terms with the Indians. The immense costs necessary to raise and maintain a standing army (moneys required for pay, uniforms, rations, weapons, pensions, and so forth) would burden the populace with an immense and crippling tax burden that would require the government to confiscate more and more of the citizenrys wealth in order to meet those massive expenses. Will your mace-bearer be a match for a disciplined regiment? Brutus wrote more about the evils of standing armies than any other Anti-Federalist. It is to prevent the establishment of a standing army, the bane of liberty. There was the Shah of Iran, a brutal dictator who was reinstalled into power by the CIA, and whose national intelligence/police force was trained by the CIA in the art of torture. why is it dangerous to have a peacetime army? The "martial law" enforced upon the colonies by "standing armies" explicitly denounced in the Declaration of Independence. Thirdly, the absolute command of Congress over the militia may be destructive of public liberty; for under the guidance of an arbitrary government, they may be made the unwilling instruments of tyranny. Fitness expert Stew Smith demonstrates the Frankenstein Walk. Akams detailed analysis goes some way to proving the old adage that regular armies may have the watches, but irregular adversaries have all the time in the world. Why Napoleon's Invasion of Russia Was the Beginning of the End - History But such constraints outside combat can prevent Army leaders at all levels from hearing different points of view and being able to consider the widest range of options, which they need in order to innovate, adapt, and make good decisions in a fast-changing environment. The severity of discipline necessary to be observed reduces them to a degree of slavery; the unconditional submission to the commands of their superiors, to which they are bound, renders them the fit instruments of tyranny and oppression. DDT and Silent Spring: Fifty years after - JMVH The principal methods of eradicating mosquitoes that carry malaria have been drainage especially when followed by cultivation and insecticides. Along with the British decision to pull out amid a public outcry at home, it also had much to do with their interpretation of the nature and character of the conflict in Iraq and the threats they faced. Easy access to firearms, people who are mentally ill being able to purchase firearms, a lack of trust amongst others, lack of access to health care, lack of employment opportunities in some areas of the country. (Petty Officer 2nd Class . Expecting audacity among junior leaders in combat while micromanaging them in peacetime garrisons is a recipe for battlefield failure. It is universally agreed, that a militia and a standing body of troops never yet flourished in the same soil. Studies tackle who joins the military and why, but their findings aren It includes 50 recommendations to help the U.S. Army prepare for the long-term future while still dominating a broad range of current and near-term conflicts. Why is the United States so dangerous? - Quora Learn about the benefits of serving your country, paying for school, military career paths, and more: sign up now and hear from a recruiter near you. adopting legislation, teaching and training on IHL) it does not apply outside of armed conflict. There are U.S. troops stationed in 159 different regions of the world in every corner of the globe. Will you order them to be punished? What was life like in the Roman army? - BBC Bitesize It is very true, that the celebrated Mr. Wilson, a member of the Convention, and who we may suppose breathes, in some measure, the spirit of that body, tells you, it [a standing army] is for the purpose of forming cantonments upon your frontiers, and for the dignity and safety of your country, as it respects foreign nations. Teachinghistory.org is designed to help K12 history teachers access resources and materials to improve U.S. history education in the classroom.

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why is it dangerous to have a peacetime army?