This book is the outgrowth of a conference held at the U.S. Naval Academy on September 15-17, 1993, to commemorate two decades of the All-Volunteer Force (AVF). The primary purpose was to deliberate the salient issues of the AVF that had emerged over its second decade. This conference, held after the demise of the Soviet Union, the break-up of the Warsaw Pact, and the remarkably quick successes in the Persian Gulf War, carried a distinct air of optimism. In large part, that optimism resulted from factors more directly related to the volunteer force than to geopolitical forces. For example, demographic trends are more favorable for recruiting in the 1990s; Department of Defense has learned how to recruit and manage a volunteer force; the force is more senior and thus more technically proficient; and, possibly as important as any tangible factor, the volunteer force has survived for two decades and both the senior civilian and the senior military managers in DoD have come of age in an institution that has proved itself. Perhaps the best indication of the success of the AVF is the fact that no papers in this volume address the military draft as a viable alternative. Finally, the book evaluates 20 years of the volunteer military, including an assessment of the current quality and effects of the drawdown, concerns for the social issues remaining and projections of future challenges.

Papers from a conference held at the U.S. Naval Academy, Sep. 15-17, 1993, which was sponsored by the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Force Management and Personnel and the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness.

Part I. Policy Issues. Sustaining the All-Volunteer Force / Edwin Dorn -- The readiness challenge / Joseph J. Went -- The volunteer force and the burden of peace / Gordon R. Sullivan ; Part II. Yesterday's perspective: twenty years of the All-Volunteer Force. Introduction / I.M. Greenberg -- Historical perspectives on the All-Volunteer Force: the Rochester connection / Walter Y. Oi -- On being all you can be: a recruiting perspective / Maxwell R. Thurman -- The All-Volunteer Force after twenty years / Mark J. Eitelberg -- Our nation's reserve forces: where do we go from here? / Kenneth J. Coffey -- Commentary / James R. Hosek and Martin Binkin ; Part III. Today's environment: force management issues. Introduction / Wallace C. Arnold. Managing the force drawdown / Nicolai Timenes, Jr. -- Structure and readiness of future active and reserve forces / Harry J. Thie and Bernard D. Rostker -- Should the military retirement system be reformed? / Beth J. Asch and John T. Warner -- Commentary / Robert M. Emmerichs, Neil M. Singer, David W. Grissmer ; Part IV. Today's environment: social composition and the role of the military in American society. Introduction / Robert M. Alexander -- Social representation in the military: a reassessment / Richard L. Fernandez -- Women in the military / Mimi Finch -- Women, men, and soldiering after the Cold War / Cynthia H. Enloe -- Commentary / Marsha J. Evans, Jeanne B. Fites ; Part V. Tomorrow's challenges: the military's response to a changing world order. Introduction / G. Kim Wincup -- The American military's response to a changing world order: what does it imply for manpower requirements? / David S.C. Chu -- Panel discussion: new roles and missions for military personnel / Deborah Roche Lee, Christopher Jehn, Lawrence J. Korb.