"A theme of the book, America's First Battles 1776-1965, expands on how - and - why - the U.S. military has repeatedly been unprepared to execute its primary mission at the outbreak of hostilities" (USASMA), (p 3). Since its' beginning the U.S. military has not had enough Soldiers fight a war on a large scale without recruiting and training additional personnel. The U.S. military also has a history of reducing the number of personnel on active duty at the end of each conflict.

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