Episode 54: Fixing a Broken Army
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Episode 54: Fixing a Broken Army
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About this listen
In the years after Vietnam, the U.S. Army faced a crisis unlike anything in its modern history. Discipline collapsed, morale cratered, and trust between soldiers, leaders, and the institution itself eroded—sometimes violently. Senior leaders used a word the Army rarely admits: broken.
In this episode of Mil History Talk, Hope and Brian dig into how the Army reached that point. They examine the corrosive effects of an unpopular war, a draft system widely perceived as unfair, racial tension, drug abuse, leadership instability, and the loss of legitimacy that followed the force home from Vietnam.
But this is not just a story of failure. The final portion of the episode explores how the Army rebuilt itself—ending the draft, transitioning to an All-Volunteer Force, restoring discipline, modernizing training and doctrine, improving pay and living conditions, and reinvesting in professionalism.
The highly disciplined force that fought in Desert Storm did not appear by accident. It was rebuilt—painfully and deliberately—from the ashes of the Vietnam-era Army.
See a more detailed article at: Fixing a Broken Army - by Louis DiMarco - Mil History Talk