"By reference to the fundamental strengths and weaknesses of America's armed forces, Wheeler and Korb establish a definition of what genuine military reform is and is not, and identify what really needs to be done to transform our military. They compare genuine reform with 'cosmetic dabbling' that improves nothing and often burdens US combat forces to the point of mental and physical immobility. They focus particularly on the reforms advocated by a small group in Congress and the Pentagon in the 1980s, revealing how these reforms have fundamentally altered the ways in which the Department of Defense designs and buys hardware, and how our armed forces fight. The book uses Operations Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom and the subsequent insurgency in Iraq to demonstrate what has been reformed in the US armed forces and the Department of Defense, and what has not." Publisher's description

Originally published: Westport, CT : Praeger Security International, 2007.

A mixed history in Congress and the executive branch / Winslow T. Wheeler -- Some lessons from the dustbin of history / Winslow T. Wheeler -- Falling off the mountain: Congress and the press quit military reform / Winslow T. Wheeler -- The lost decade / Lawrence J. Korb -- Defense transformation / Lawrence J. Korb -- From tethered goats and military jackasses to reform / Winslow T. Wheeler -- Conclusions: what is military reform? / Winslow T. Wheeler -- Appendix I: fire the generals! / Douglas Magregor -- Appendix II: from Swift to Swiss / Douglas Magregor -- Appendix III: statement to Congress / Franklin C. Spinney -- Appendix IV: Genghis John / Franklin C. Spinney