The Joint Chiefs Of Staff And National Policy 1961 1964 PDF Download

Established during World War II to advise the President regarding the strategic direction of the armed forces of the United States, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) continued in existence after the war and, as advisers and planners, have played a significant role in the development of national policy. Knowledge of JCS relations with the President, the National Security Council, and the Secretary of Defense in the years since World War II is essential to an understanding of their current work. An account of their activity in peacetime and during times of crisis provides, moreover, an important series of chapters in the military history of the United States. For these reasons, the Joint Chiefs of Staff directed that an official history be written for the record. Its value for instructional purposes, for the orientation of officers newly assigned to the JCS organization and as a source of information for staff studies, will be readily recognized. The series, The Joint Chiefs of Staff and National Policy, treats the activities of the Joint Chiefs of Staff since the close of World War II. Because of the nature of the activities of the Joint Chiefs of Staff as well as the sensitivity of the sources, the volumes of the series were originally prepared in classified form. Classification designations in the footnotes are those that appeared in the original classified volume. Volume VIII describes JCS activities during the period 1961-1964 except for activities related to Indochina which are covered in a separate series. Originally, this volume was planned to cover the years 1961-1963. In accord with that plan, during 1967-1971, Mrs. Anna C. Webb and Mr. Donald J. Boyle wrote preliminary drafts for portions of what became Chapters 1, 2, and 3; Dr. Robert J. Watson prepared a draft for what became Chapter 5; Ms. Judith A. Walters prepared a preliminary draft of Chapter 16; Dr. Ronald H. Spector prepared a draft of Chapter 17 and Ms. Kathleen S. Paasch prepared a draft for Chapter 18. Then, in 1973, the volume was expanded to cover 1964 and assigned to Dr. Walter Poole. He developed a new outline and wrote completely new chapters. These were reviewed by Mr. Kenneth W. Condit and Dr. Robert J. Watson. Ultimately, Dr. Poole assumed full responsibility for the volume. During 2008 and 2009, Dr. Poole reworked the classified manuscript to prepare it for publication in its unclassified form. In addition to reorganizing it to conform to the structure of earlier volumes in The Joint Chiefs of Staff and National Policy series, Dr. Poole took advantage of the great amount of material that had become available as well as the perspective afforded by thirty years. Ms. Susan Carroll prepared the index, and Ms. Penny Norman prepared the manuscript for publication.