ABSTRACT
The cohesiveness of the long history of the military has been a traditional brake on progress, but change and the pace of change have caught up with and imposed modern dynamism on a culture not always so receptive to new ideas, new technologies nor necessarily quick to react to altered circumstances. To the extent that today’s military organizations have been formed by the richness of their past, their modern challenge is to be served by their history, not limited by it. We should look at some examples of that history-as-culture, and how they contribute to the sense of belonging to, how they impart a duty to preserve, a heritage. We can then see how a cultural heritage, rather than imposing stasis, can instead provide a framework for managing change.
