ABSTRACT
The US Army has been conducting peace operations under various names throughout most of its history. From earliest Colonial times through Reconstruction after the Civil War, through the Indian wars, the occupations of the Philippines, Cuba, China, and Central America at the beginning of the twentieth century, and the postconflict situations after the Second World War, the Army has enforced civil rights; disarmed, demobilized, and separated factions; stabilized and overseen the formation of governments; established educational reform; assisted in humanitarian relief; and provided a safe and secure environment so that orderly society could be established. Army officers have operated governments and conducted nation-building in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines following the war with Spain in 1899 and in Germany and Japan following the Second World War. In all this time, the Army as an institution never embraced these tasks as a core mission. The combined effects of the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989, the involvement of US Army in peace operations in the Balkans in 1995, and the Army’s operations in support of the postconflict peace operations in Iraq since 2003 have forced change, however.1 This chapter will examine the nature of that change, explore how the Army and the joint forces are responding to the demands of peace operations, and discuss future trends and challenges.
