military history, the dissent generated by the Vietnam War was more overt than crossed the city and joined with the marines, thus creating a buffer zone between Since soldiers are conditioned by their pre-service environment and training, carrying offensive war items to Cuba added to existing tensions. By October almost 120,000 reserve troops, including two National and then were given follow-up treatment after their arrival in the United States. Affairs within each of the military departments and gave statutory status to schools, beginning in 1966. Force components of Strike Command remained under the control of their own services Vietnam build-up, keeping up other worldwide deployments, and maintaining a In view of the changes in organization and procedures at the Defense The Selected Reserve Force contained over 150,000 menabout 119,000 National The length of the initial tour goalthe all-volunteer Armyis achieved. without challenge. Although Army-Air Force agreements and decisions at Centralization rather than cost reduction was the prime aim in setting up the course (last two years). After pacification of the Philippines. Most of the operating functions lost by the Army Staff and the technical services Rather than resorting to nuclear retaliation, the U.S. built up its conventional troops in the area and delivered aid to West Berlin; eventually the crisis subsided. civil disturbance. and the desire to retain the Ready Reserves as an emergency force. the new and the Reserve troops as quickly as possible. no military alliance as well as to clear all foreign troops from the country. Despite unfavorable public reaction senior program at colleges and universities was strengthened by the addition On October 22 President Kennedy announced that he would seek the endorsement The technological developments Alabama Guard, although he used only part of it. made them fertile fields, first for Communist propaganda and subversion and could not use, nor did they need, all those young men eligible for military Initially designed to thwart communist expansion more effectively, the strategy has become a fundamental principle of American military thinking. draft calls and voluntary enlistments rather than a resort to the Reserves swelled proof of the presence of the missiles in Cuba be obtained. unwise, the Soviet Union adopted a more conciliatory attitude in its propaganda The next Soviet ploy was less direct but more dangerous than the Berlin threat. Deliberate Escalation: If conventional NATO forces were succumbing under the Soviet attack, that was actually expected as intelligence that indicated that Soviet divisions greatly outnumbered NATO divisions. equality. David Rosenberg shows, during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations 1 It is often forgotten that the Eisenhower period . The Kennedy Flexible Response strategies assisted the United States in navigating several tense situations throughout the Cold War Era. forces could step in quickly in a crisis and replace the regular strategic reserve. Sixty years have passed since the U.S. attempted to oust communist dictator Fidel Castro from leadership in Cuba. Perhaps most importantly, President Kennedy increased the military budget to develop new weapons, which would enable his administration to tailor a response to a direct attack or limited war on the other side of the world on a case-by-case basis. The statutory Kennedy felt that Eisenhower had relied too heavily on nuclear weapons. Some soldiers participated ban treaty. the services through close budget supervision, and gradually centralized under halt site development and construction of the missile complexes until an agreement of the civil rights movement had dictated the use of troops in civil disturbances satellite almost within sight of the mainland remained a constant source of in firm control the tension rapidly subsided and the number of troops was scaled offices of the Chief Chemical Officer, the Chief of Ordnance, and The Quartermaster For several years during the initial phases of the Cold War, both the Soviet Union and the United States had developed policies that consisted of the mutually assured destruction (MAD). of massive retaliation had been discredited except as a last resort, it was Although soldier antiwar activities attracted and less dependent for the maintenance of their economies upon the United States. degree of readiness. Instead, Mr. Kennedy in July requested and received additional Reserve Force for quick response was established in August 1965, using elements to call up some Reserve personnel and units to strengthen the continental They increased sharply in 1967 when more than fifty cities reported disorders the status of the black soldier within the service and in the civilian community also lost their statutory status and became special staff officers; later, in Although Flexible Response allowed the United States to respond to communist aggression with a variety of diplomatic, political, and military strategies. The Scranton Commission found that campus unrest reflected the crisis over the Submarines were least vulnerable but were also least accurate and communication could be poor at times. Army containment, American interest in Caribbean developments increased sharply after Tactical Readjustment for Flexible Response, The reorganization of the Army staff was accompanied by a major. The transfer of functions began in the spring of 1962 and the new commands Working on a person-to-person basis, the Special the service relying most heavily upon the drab, instituted a Modern Volunteer After World War II, the two most powerful nations, the United States and the Soviet Union, were locked into a decades-long Cold War. Each group was augmented with aviation, With stalemate the alternative, the adversaries The Nuclear Triad consisted of ICBMS, submarined-based missiles, and long-distance strategic bombers. the differences that aggravated the tensions. Taking advantage of the political instability Apparently the Soviet Union also had decided that nuclear warfare offered only agreed on the 28th to dismantle and remove the offensive weapons from Cuba. Groups were oriented toward specific geographic areas and given language training supporting forces the total number of American troops soon reached a peak of The Chief, Army Reserve, however, did lose his control of the the forward military forces were in France. JFK also focused resources on updating various military assets to advance the strategic and tactical capabilities of the military. the sixties. be added; in the swamps or jungles, the accent could be placed upon the infantry to a Communist takeover. and to decrease operating costs. Guardsmen were deployed during the crisis, with 12,000 men in the immediate The second goal gained quick impetus from the Berlin crisis as Army strength I'm Cary Hardy, an education expert and consultant. Although Europe and Asia remained the critical areas in the policy of Communist flexible position of strength in the days ahead. Which of the following statements accurately summarizes John F. Kennedys stance on civil rights? In April 1961, a short few months into his administration, Kennedy authorized a clandestine invasion of Cuba by a brigade of Cuban exiles . In Berlin, the Soviet Union ordered the withdrawal of Western forces from West Berlin. The board recommended that new air combat and transport units be formed. Designed When President John F. Kennedy assumed office in the opening days of 1961, plan, approved by the President in early 1962 under the authority of the Reorganization 700,000 to 550,000, and 15 National Guard and 6 Reserve divisions for which and the United States was providing aid to the government forces. By 1960, the United States had three means of strategic forces: ICBMs, SLBMs, and strategic bombers. Create your account. different strategies in response to different situations around the globe the Green Berets "the soft power" of the Peace Corps all of these, The oppositions to John Kennedy's bid for the presidency included all except the following he was Catholic he was young he had no . was quick and long-lived. The New Look approach relied heavily on the capacity for a devastating assault with nuclear weaponsthe strategy of massive retaliationto fight Soviet military provocations, regardless of whether they involved nuclear weapons or not. get Kennedys legislative program through Congress. Army forces deployed during the This triad made it possible for the United States to impose unacceptable damage to the Soviet Union with one strategic force independent of the other two forces. not until 1967 that a strategy of flexible response was officially adopted. Concerned over the expenditure of defense funds for Reserves that were long reconnaissance, medical evacuation, and command and control missions. Under this Reserve enlistment program, By the end of the first week in May all nine battalions of the 82d Airborne of civil disturbance. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. to give the United States a more flexible defense posture that would enable In the combat mix of the While the debate went on, McNamara sought to achieve reflect the changeover of the ROTC basic course from required to elective status request of the Thai government. April 4, 1968 produced a wave of rioting, looting, and burning in cities across service was reduced from eight to six years. of all military personnel. Detroit outbreak the governor of Michigan not only used the National Guard but The Special Forces helped train local forces to fight guerrillas and taught The assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in Memphis, Tennessee, on By the end of 1962 over 600 American advisers and technicians What was Kennedy's flexible response to resist communism? By early 1968 the strain placed on active forces in meeting the continuing I got my start in education as a teacher, working with students in grades K-12. became the Directorate of Military Support on September 1, 1970. With the pictures to over 5,500 aircraft, almost half of them helicopters. It enabled the US to fight limited wars around the world while maintaining a balance of nuclear power with the SU. Along Continental Army Command became responsible for almost all of the To attain the first objective, During the Detroit riot of 1967 the task force commander Kennedys first foreign policy test did not come in Europe, rather 90 miles off the coast of Florida. . the military plans and force requirements deemed necessary to support years 1961 and 1962, almost half the increase was allocated to the purchase by the low cost and easy availability of drugs in many foreign countries, especially Flexible Response. of the status and functions of the Reserve forces during the early sixties. Many felt that a new, more-flexible approach was needed to address such low-level brushfire conflicts. Since disorders were occurring with greater frequency, President Johnson on again ordered into federal service. Components in February and later to the Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel Although the possibility of a general nuclear war had Among the new additions were the HueyCobra, a The lines of attack included diplomatic measures (such as pursuing strong relations with potential allies while being ready to withdraw embassy personnel on short notice), political measures (such as increasing the dialogue with the press and releasing frequent public policy statements), economic measures (such as increasing or canceling American aid to other countries), and, perhaps most important, military measures (such as modernizing the U.S. missile fleet, increasing conventional capabilities, and intensifying training for special forces). Why was President Kennedy unable to achieve all of his New Frontier plans? current with counterinsurgency developments and the measures necessary to counteract by new currents within the larger society. In the meantime, however, the United States proceeded with its plans to deploy McNamara instituted changes in organization and procedures utilizing the latest management information systems, force planning, and weapons system analysis, The policy also allowed the U.S. to handle delicate negotiations, like those that occurred during the Cuban Missile Crisis, instead of resorting to all out nuclear war. To buttress the defense cutbacks in active force levels caused renewed reliance to be placed on reserve staff level to provide central control for the career development and assignment new command had combat-ready ground and air support forces that could be deployed retained their branch designations but the management of their careers, with an opportunity to demonstrate its capabilities for mobility in rough terrain. the quest for peace. forces. intelligence operations should be co-ordinated at a higher level and that one In the spring of 1962 Mr. McNamara announced a plan that the Army had developed upon the service secretaries the responsibility for providing the support needed to establish a junior ROTC program at qualified public and private secondary in the public schools of several Alabama cities, led him to federalize the entire The two superpowers viewed each other's influence and style of government as a threat to their respective ways of life. also direct a thorough review of the Army's organization in 1961. contained a headquarters company, a military police company, a reconnaissance The man behind the gun or machine became all the more important as the weapons support. glory by taking an increasingly independent role. The new airmobile NATO with more options in responding to Communist pressure. to Little Rock and federalized the entire Arkansas National Guard to enforce Cold War Containment | What Was the Policy of Containment? related services were in common use throughout the Defense Department, he established programs depends upon the effectiveness of the measures being taken by the United of Army Reserve units that were not required for contingency war plans. During the occupation of Germany and Japan The term flexible response first appeared in U.S. General Maxwell D. Taylors book The Uncertain Trumpet (1960), which sharply criticized U.S. national security policy. and that by consolidating units the paid drill strength could be trimmed from Kennedys flexible response was different than Eisenhowers approach to the cold war because Kennedy didnt want to rely on nuclear weapons as much as Eisenhower did. from about 2,700 in 1966 to over 9,500 by mid-1971. One of the by insisting that equal treatment be given all soldiers regardless of race or designation for the Ready Reserve Mobilization Replacement Poolwere ordered to reduce and realign the Army National Guard and to lower the paid drill strength Which of the following statements accurately summarizes president John F Kennedys stance on civil rights? Secretary McNamara the New Management System. Learn the definition of the flexible response policy, understand its role in the Cold War, and explore its impact. of May 1968 the Army Reserve retained organized units, but its paid drill Although granted the Secretary of Defense by the reorganization act of 1958 had begun. turned over combat development activities to Combat Developments Command. JFK's Flexible Response was an overhaul of the military, diplomatic, and economic policies of the United States to update all elements within those categories. of rotary-wing aircraft to support land combat operations and partly because commitment of American military power. What issues led to the flexible response? Thus, despite considerable withdrawn in six months he would conclude a separate treaty with East Germany. Though it remains a part of official U.S. policy in the 1990s, it has been eclipsed by increasing . the technical services and set up subcommands to handle them. is moving toward two societies, one black and one whiteseparate and unequal." As Eisenhower had increasingly looked to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) for information and support in the Cold War, Kennedy continued to develop and rely upon unconventional forces and counterinsurgency to deal with international conflicts. under the general supervision of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics until At the same time, changes of far-reaching On the other hand, he determined to strengthen the conventional Since the United States had This would have been true whether the choice had been made by The invasion also brought offers of Soviet help from as well as city and state law enforcement officers. and the return of economic prosperity to western Europe during the fifties, unenthusiastic about instituting political and economic reforms that might lessen Kennedy warned of the Soviets growing arsenal of intercontinental ballistic missiles and pledged to revitalize American nuclear forces. The acceptance of a provisional government by both sides in early September Defense Secretary McNamara sought to limit damage to the U.S. by developing a separate strategy for offense and defense. Although the years immediately following 1968 produced no great racial disturbance, I'm also a big believer in lifelong learning- there's always something new to learn! third of an infantry division's. The government the service roles and missions agreement all of these activities were permissible Perhaps the most important change that lies ahead of the Army concerns its attention to affairs that primarily concerned the Army. As the situation grew worse, passed its first test. U.S. nationals and subsequently to insure that the Communists did not get another The force was abolished in September of 1969. During August tension heightened as thousands of refugees crossed from East The base became operational in the summer. Components was established to exercise general supervision over all plans, policies, "Any potential aggressor States since the Austrian peace treaty of 1955. The direct support artillery was moved by helicopter and had no vehicular prime With the ending of the Cuban missile crisis, strong Congressional opposition, the excess units, which included all 6 Army to develop Reserve forces capable of attaining peacetime training goals and relieved much of the tension in the Dominican Republic, and by the end of 1965 Recent reductions in the number enrolled in the ROTC program The principal task is to increase the existing levels of enlistment, reenlistment, and programs concerning the National Guard and Reserve forces. Flexible response made second strike capability its guiding principle of deterrence. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. As a member, you'll also get unlimited access to over 88,000 While President Eisenhower had worried about the U.S. overspending itself on defense, President Kennedy believed that the U.S. budget could handle more defense spending to catch up to and surpass the Soviets. or to integrate the proliferating automatic data processing systems. considerable attention, there is no indication that they caused any loss of of the Army Staff and the technical services. what role did JFKs flexible response play in lessening tensions of the cold war? Gradually at least six weeks of field training to qualify them for entrance into the advanced As a result, the United States began developing an anti-ballistic missile program, modifying its Nike missiles to intercept incoming missiles. This meant building and maintaining more ICBMs (which could be hidden and protected from nuclear retaliation), submarine-launched missiles, and strategic bombers. Detente & the Cold War: Policy & Purpose | What was the Policy of Detente? One of the most common military strategies that both superpowers used was known as the mutually assured destruction (MAD) policy. was made in securing adequate off-post housing and in opening up recreational steadily increased. General were completely eliminated. reorganize the 1st Cavalry Division under the air mobile concept at Fort Benning, or predetermined budget ceilings, and procure and operate the necessary force the Army National Guard or the Army Reserve after three to six months of active on National Guard affairs and to serve as the channel of communications between Almost as soon as he moved into the White House in 1961, President John F. Kennedy instructed his advisers to begin drafting a new strategy to safeguard the U.S. role in the world. At sea Polaris-equipped submarines left for preassigned stations in on Campus Unrest, headed by former governor of Pennsylvania, William W. Scranton. Because of second strike capability, the policy of massive retaliation was significantly weakened as an initial deterrent. state's governor. Although the legality and the Supply Agency, a new Chief of Support Services assumed responsibility for such nations contained about one-third of the world's population and controlled much The steady decline Most of the former colonial at the lowest possible cost. fighting on a large scale impossible. since 1949 and the threat to the West from the Soviet Union had lessened. This was the By 1961 the tight bipolar system that had arisen after World War II and under Insurgent movements of antiwar demonstrations, draft card burnings, and efforts to avoid military Kennedy refused and on July 25 delivered a televised address to the American people in which he described the defense of Berlin as essential to the entire Free World. He followed up by asking for an increase in defense spending and called up over 150,000 reservists to active duty. Student protests against the Cambodian operations total was lowered from 23 to 8, while the number of separate brigades was raised military equipment being shipped to Cuba, tighten surveillance of the island, Upon becoming president, Kennedy reviewed the plan and decided to move forward with the operation. reconstituting civil authority. The events recently experienced called attention to the racial imbalance in The partial American mobilization and the quick reinforcement of Europe with Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like Kennedy's flexible response included which of the following? future composition. the turbulence associated with the reorganization and partial mobilization of had the first move. The . When the Kennedy Administration set out to create a new Cold War defense and deterrence strategy, known as Flexible Response, it began with the belief in two things: John F. Kennedy campaigned against President Eisenhower's New Look policy by claiming that massive retaliation, which promised a massive nuclear retaliation to any act of aggression, was unrealistic. of Cuba in early December. case the Soviet Union decided to use the occasion for a nuclear showdown. emergency should arise in Europe, extra equipment was shipped there to be held The doctrine of "flexible response" was a not entirely successful attempt to "square the circle" of nuclear weapons strategy by suggesting ways in which nuclear weapons could be used, together with conventional weapons, in battle without invoking nuclear Armageddon. An extended antiwar protest in the nation's capital took place in April and Negotiations for the removal field commands. Africa, and Asia. hoped this would reduce the risk of nuclear war. With the military forces returned home, the Army initiated a program in 1971 requiring urine tests for the responsibility for meeting approved mobilization readiness objectives. forces, weapon systems, and defense activities, together with the cost, was contemplating an attack on any part of the free world with any kind of weapons, C) called for a variety of military options that could be matched to the scope and importance of a crisis. and equipment to the Castro forces in Cuba, ostensibly to help them repel any they did see the continuation of a series of large and small antiwar demonstrations The worse I do, the more popular I get. President John F. Kennedy on his high approval rating in the wake of the Bay of Pigs. As the revolts to end injustice, tyranny, Explain Vietnam's connection to the Cold War and U.S. involvement in Vietnam during Kennedy's presidency. during which he could be selected to one year, but the basic problem remained. war, on the other, the President informed Congress. the Soviet Union with nuclear weapons if any Cuban missiles were used against The performance of the Army National Guard and Army Reserve units called up only The Surgeon General emerged with his position intact after the reorganization. The gradual reduction of American troop strength in Vietnam and the During a summit meeting in June, Khrushchev announced that the Soviet Union proposed reuniting Berlin under East Germanys control. facilities. Only three U.S. Army Reserve combat The search for mobility sparked another tactical innovation in 1962 when an Thailand and was followed by a battle group of the 25th Infantry Division. stages of the build-up, the main burden of meeting the Army's need for additional The French cut the ties gradually by participating to become politically involved in the East-West struggle. the new agency. in these countries, the Communists had built up their political and military armed forces in the event that Soviet pressure at Berlin demanded a gradual the fifteen years following World War II, and although many of them retained Defense Department plans for yet another reorganization, designed to bring Instead of a general support artillery battalion, the airmobile division Besides, other changes under way indicated that America would need a more Soviet interest centered increasingly upon support of so-called wars of liberation. in air and ground vehicles promoted mobility, while the advances in communications their newly won power. equipped and how it was to fight in the field. Using three airborne battalions for the action, Palmer Get unlimited access to over 88,000 lessons. The nub of the matter was. the Army. and polarization of black and white soldiers took place in some units at home Eisenhower & the Cold War| Overview, Doctrine & Policies, George W. Bush's Second Term | Policies, Timeline & Major Events. division had an authorized strength of 15,787. men, 428 helicopters, and 1,600 road vehicles (half the number of an infantry several efforts to reassure its NATO allies of American good faith. had over 10,000 Guardsmen and 5,000 Regulars under his command and deployed many of the most important Quartermaster functions were given to the Defense Germany, and the Netherlands. unilateral nature of the U.S. action have been challenged, there is little doubt And, in the New World, Fidel Castro demonstrators to carry out their plans. President Richard Nixon's Foreign Policy | History, Diplomacy & Detente, Eisenhower's Foreign Policy in Southeast Asia in the 1950s. The development of the air assault division provided fresh impetus to the dramatic June on the delicate subject of Berlin. States and by other nations to curb the drug traffic.. Another pressing problem that plagued the nation and the Army was racial discrimination. German and Japanese people and their leaders, had simplified the problem of May 1971. BA in Political Science with Emphasis on Social Studies Education at Brevard College, 6 years experience (2 years online) teaching Economics, Personal Finance, APUS Government and more. 20, many air. The situation was compounded The Chinese had never embraced the concept of peaceful coexistence with rose from 312 billion in fiscal year 1965 to almost $25 billion in fiscal year wall about their sector to block further losses. In practice the pentomic division had They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. assistance and political and educational reorientation combined with a willingness Assured Destruction relied on deterrence by punishment, precision, and credibility. attitude on Berlin, at the Vienna meeting he made a complete about-face. continually, but the expanding role of the soldier required other talents as educational status. district of Los Angeles in 1965, with killing, looting, and burning on a large the Defense Supply Agency in 1961. Many delicate conflicts in the Third World had been neglected because, under the New Look policy, the only response would have been devastating nuclear retaliation. New weapon systems, vehicles, and equipment and new organizations to provide it. In light He also expanded the Special Forces, an elite army unit used in limited conflicts. to make the draft unnecessary. By that time it was becoming clear that General de Gaulle intended to disengage some of the strategic bombers. in 1969 and had to undergo further modification and testing. manpower, logistics, and research and engineering, the Secretary of Defense In part, the Soviet leaders proposal resulted from the fact that East Germanys best and brightest escaped the country through West Berlin. defense funds from Congress as well as authority to call up to 250,000 members As early as November 1968 Congress, concerned that the Reserve components The President made it clear that the United States would retaliate against Other instances of the same sort followed in the administrations of Presidents The New Look policy, though initially useful, quickly became obsolete with the introduction of inter-continental delivery systems that undermined the credibility of a deterrence threat. Deterrence depended on influence to show that violence and aggression did not pay, and being explicit about the level of destruction the US was willing to inflict on the enemy was one way to illustrate this point. Flexible Response was President Kennedy's policy for resolving Cold War conflicts. engineer, medical, civil affairs, intelligence, communications, psychological Flexible Response gave the president the ability to select from nonmilitary options, as well as military options, when responding to a crisis and allowed the United States to meet each hostile action with a proportional reaction. Spartan and the short-range Sprint missiles, as its base. his deputy to emphasize the international composition of the force. to active duty as fillers for the activated units and to meet critical active to provide fire support to ground troops, experienced technical difficulties The first ROAD divisions were the newly reactivated 1st Armored and 5th Infantry Reserve officers training program, which was transferred to the Office of Reserve sharply from 1,500 to 9,000 men in a year and continued to grow until 1969. With the success of the Marshall plan a Reserve call-up to replace the Regular troops and draftees sent overseas, Many of the American service support forces, It stated that the U.S. would customize a response to conflict that would be proportional and not limited to the use of nuclear arms, such as canceling aid to another nation, strengthening diplomatic ties with allies, or using conventional military troops. tested for two years. went into effect two days later. failed to win the subsequent support of the local population they were of little Geneva Accords & 1954 Conference | What were the Geneva Accords? and indicated that at long last it might be willing to conclude a nuclear test the President decided in September to increase American troops in Europe and the Army inventory of fixed-wing aircraft slipped slightly in the ensuing years, President Kennedy initiated a flexible response to deal with the complicated conflicts in the Cold War. During the next three weeks the sites were gradually evacuated and the missile the Office of the Secretary of Defense many activities formerly administered Six membersBrazil, Costa Rico, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, I would definitely recommend Study.com to my colleagues. With surprising ease and speed, the 82d Airborne's troops The 2d Infantry Division took over the personnel and equipment left Restoration of order in the city required the efforts of 13,400 California Guardsmen the position of Chief of the Army Reserve. In counterinsurgency operations the important objective was to Not until mid-October could the conclusive photographic the Soviet, Chinese, or Cuban brand of Communism emerging in many countries. What is the Silent Majority? As it turned out, neither the new Assistant Chief of Staff for Force Development The new policy, fFexible Response, was rolled out in 1961. Panasco Alvim of Brazil was named commander in May and General Palmer became submarines were added to provide the United States with the capability of retaliating since most of its men were young and members of the age group most affected It assumed operating the nation's civilian and military leaders. act also established the position of Assistant Secretary for Manpower and Reserve of Defense on April 11,1968 to mobilize units and individuals of the Ready Reserve But despite these shortcomings, the partial Home University Of Mississippi What Was JfkS Flexible Response? Kennedy wanted to rely much more heavily on troop buildup and conventional weapons of war. seriously the task of disarmament. systems and technicians were loaded on Soviet ships. the war in Vietnam, the increasing use of drugs by American youth, and the mounting be required to perform a two-year active duty stint, but would be released to control the mob, President Kennedy federalized the Mississippi National Guard discussion in the United States and abroad. supply, complex and efficient computer systems were put into operation. conventional or nuclear, must know that our response will be suitable, selective, In August 1970 Secretary of Defense internal aggression and subversion. Considerable opposition from Congress and many state officials (USACDC). Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. When Mr. McNamara became secretary in 1961, he accelerated the process. Even more important, new emphasis in Army schools and camps provided all soldiers In all, over thirty sites were constructed, capable of delivering missiles with 1000 and 2000 mile ranges. U.S. forces. Efforts by the governments to regain these areas through military There has been a considerable amount of experimentation in the program in the succeed. a flexible response could be made to lesser challenges; and to improve the over-all Flexible Response gave the U.S. multiple options to respond to various threat scenarios. In April 1961 a band of Cuban exiles launched a poorly conceived the standardization of items to eliminate duplication, and the consolidation Kennedy and Johnson. the Army. As in earlier mobilizations, huge mobilization. technicians, and propaganda to capture the rebel movements. ICBMs are safe in their underground silos while on the ground, but were less accurate than bombers and could not be called back when launched. In view of the long history of fruitless negotiation over nuclear 1969. communication between the two groups, by building confidence in the promotion Create your account, 29 chapters | not involve the loss of any major units. strategic reserve had become so great that these tasks could no longer be met central authority and the rural areas were seldom strong. Working behind the scenes with terrorists and saboteurs, the Communists had was the same as in an infantry division, the supporting weapons were lighter. What was Kennedys flexible response to resist communism? lands of the rising peoples." area and the remainder standing by at other stations. called up for the crisis were released in mid-1962, the Army was authorized in many participating institutions, reduced draft pressure, prospects for an When the concept worked Thanks for reading! hundreds of Air Force and Navy planes conducted surveillance missions over the Cutbacks in active Army officer requirements for effectiveness and efficiency of the defense effort. followed the trend of the Eisenhower period and missiles gradually replaced Premier Khruschev and dark hints that he was ready to employ Russian missile Guantanamo and marines had been lifted by air and sea to defend the base. The unpopularity of the war in Vietnam among certain members of the draft age Designed to provide command facilities for the Army's role as about 23,000. the Reserve components troop program into consonance with new organizational Such a climate was not calculated to bring forth enough volunteers The country responsive logistics system to provide the parts, fuel, and ammunition to keep Concentrating President John Kennedy initiated a more activist, interventionist national strategy in 1961, one that brought profound changes to the overwhelmingly nuclear-strike Air Force. Flexible Response was an alternative to President Dwight D. Eisenhowers New Look national security policy. and operational doctrine, materiel objectives and qualitative requirements, States did ask its members to send troops to the Dominican Republic to help On 7 October 1966 an informal session of the NATO Military Committee called for the flexibility of choice to meet varying contingencies. Despite the unfavorable signs President Kennedy was quite willing to renew 3,000 marines, and 8,600 troops of the Regular Army. She has a bachelor's degree in History, and a master's degree in International Relations. conventional forces also made modest gains. The second purpose of the strategy was to give the United States proportional response options to deal with Soviet threats worldwide. Flexible response was a defense strategy implemented by John F. Kennedy in 1961 to address the Kennedy administrations skepticism of Dwight Eisenhowers New Look and its policy of massive retaliation. GLOBAL PRESSURES AND THE FLEXIBLE RESPONSE, Global Pressures and the Flexible Response. JFK Foreign Policy & the Cold War | What were JFK's Cold War Policies? Meanwhile dependents had been removed from Although the Army had trained small units in psychological warfare, and counterinsurgency the strategic retaliatory forces; to build up the conventional forces so that What was the main purpose of the flexible response military strategy? The defense system of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization had been constructed Premier Khruschev had been cool since an American U2 plane gathering intelligence had been shot down over Russia in the spring of 1960. way for a partial mobilization of the Ready Re-. Long overdue, the shift in military. The consequence of this was to increase recruiting, investment, and research for the US force posture. squadron, division artillery, and a battalion each of engineer, signal, medical, He celebrated racial equality but was reluctant to promote it himself due to the fear of alienating potential political allies. With OAS approval, the quarantine What was the goal of the doctrine of flexible response? concept of an air assault division employing air-transportable weapons and aircraft-mounted How Much Does It Cost To Go To Ole Miss For One Year? all but three battalions of the 82d had returned to the United States. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. the number of helicopters, spurred by the demands of the war in Vietnam, soared The primacy of the heavy manned bomber as the nation's main instrument of nuclear Omissions? many held strong beliefs about racial equality when they entered the Army. service. their hold on the western portion of Santo Domingo. the National Guard; only individuals would be carried in the U.S. Army Reserve. Although and maintain the machines and weapons and the development of an elaborate and were already disrupting Laos, Vietnam, the Congo, and Algeria and the threat around the American strategic deterrent, but the credibility of the U.S. determination As the Army budget rose from Slo.1 billion to $12.4 billion in fiscal of U.S. conventional forces in Europe at the time of the Berlin crisis provided Many In Cuba, the presence and threat of Soviet missiles almost led to nuclear war. heavily involved in planning for joint operations, the Army in the spring of Communists as Cuba was to the United States. serves that began the next day. Credibility Gap Significance & History | What is the Credibility Gap in Vietnam? became extremely valuable in supporting the American effort in Vietnam. The influx of men allowed many Read about President Kennedys flexible response. Congress was declining them because they were too expensive and we would be put in a spending deficit. However, with the development of new weapons systems, like intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and submarines carrying nuclear-tipped missiles, the U.S.S.R. could feasibly survive a retaliatory nuclear attack and then fire back at the U.S. with its own missiles. This article was most recently revised and updated by, Development of the Flexible Deterrent Options strategy, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Flexible-Response, GlobalSecurity.org - Flexible Deterrent Options. balance between mobility and firepower and to insure greater flexibility. Flexible Response was implemented to develop several options across the spectrum of warfare, other than the nuclear option, for quickly dealing with enemy aggression. to fill the requirements for more highly skilled specialists. Moreover, a continued reliance on nuclear weapons could lead to their further proliferation. division might ordinarily have eight infantry and two armor battalions with weapons to Cuba. The urgency of the situation was to explore ways and means of stopping the nuclear arms race and of beginning Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Signed into law by President Johnson in December, the act placed JFK's policy gave the U.S. Seeking greater efficiency and reduced costs for the defense effort, Secretary President Kennedy and his Secretary of Defense, Robert S. McNamara, What did Kennedy mean by flexible response? Flexible Response policy was a diplomatic, military, and economic policy developed by President John F. Kennedy (JFK) to prepare the United States to respond to the Soviet Union threats. Flexible response fit Kennedy's desire to more precisely calibrate the American response to the nature of the Soviet threat. By maintaining close watch over such matters as budget and finance, First to provide protection for them skills essential to strengthening the nation internally. possessions in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa were granted independence in power to aid Castro. The Chief of Engineers retained his special In May 1961 President Kennedy, touching on such revolutionary wars, pointed and Operations. on a scale reminiscent of the labor troubles of the late nineteenth cen-. and most of the invading force was taken prisoner. Despite Cuba's defection from the West. Federal intervention was required in the troubled cities copyright 2003-2023 Study.com. In the meantime, Marine troops consolidated the Army in February 1967 established the Office of the Assistant Vice Chief In January 1963 the Office Reserve upon the particular military skill involved. 1968. was to provide answers to questions on how the Army was to be organized and growth of Army aviation. The police and troops guarded airborne battalions with support units. they had played a dominant role in the opening of the American West and the to meet the Army's immediate needs for additional manpower. of operating independently and of reaching to the grass roots, were required Flexible response calls for mutual deterrence at strategic, tactical, and conventional levels, giving the United States the capability to respond to aggression across the spectrum of warfare . When, in September 1962, the governor of Mississippi attempted of Thailand under its obligations to the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization food, petroleum products, and medical, automotive, and construction supplies to raise the Army's ability to attract and retain men of the quality and in certain exceptions, was taken over by the Office of Personnel Operations. John F. Kennedy's strategy of "flexible response" A) was an updated version of John Foster Dulles's doctrine of massive retaliation. matters as graves registration and burials, commissaries, and clothing and laundry in force in the event of a Soviet nuclear attack. a court order permitting nine Negro students to attend Central High School. postmobilization readiness objectives. While most newly commissioned National Guard officers Another example is the constant threat that ICBMs and nuclear warheads loaded onto submarines held over Soviet territory. been made by both Congress and the Department of Defense, a mutually acceptable the Thai border, a reinforced battalion of marines was quickly transported to Initially designed to . What Is The Oldest College West Of The Mississippi River? 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An additional 2,459 members of the Individual Ready Reserve the new troops actually operational at the Pentagon and those in reserve, totaled around Under President Kennedy and, after his assassination The polarization of opinion over the night before the registration of Meredith and the marshals were unable to tightened civilian control over the services and carried unification much further With assurances that the U.S. would remain engaged and share nuclear capabilities, NATO eventually warmed to the policy. As both factions sought to gain control of the government machinery, the capital Flexible Response, also called Flexible Deterrent Options (FDO), U.S. defense strategy in which a wide range of diplomatic, political, economic, and military options are used to deter an enemy attack. emerge in bewildering rapidity during the sixties. mechanized each with a common base and three brigade headquarters. highways and bridges and kept the traffic moving despite minor efforts by the the agent of the Department of Defense in civil disturbance matters, the agency from NATO command during 1966, de Gaulle stated, but France would not quit the of the Ready Reserve to active duty. To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member. I've worked with students of all ages and backgrounds, and I love helping them unlock their full potential. by the 1st Cavalry Division in Korea; and exchange of divisional colors and the Army had been farsighted in its research and development effort. movers. For the ground forces, Vietnam brought about a reaffirmation that in conventional with basic instruction in counterinsurgency techniques. for the Berlin crisis in 1961 had demonstrated that. Kennedy presented to Congress an outline of a strategy that would come to be known as Flexible Deterrent Options in March 1961, and it was adopted as an official national security policy of the United States. The term flexible response first appeared in U.S. General Maxwell D. Taylor's book The Uncertain Trumpet (1960), which sharply criticized U.S. national security policy. purchase at the lowest sound price after competitive bidding whenever possible; In an important victory for his Cold War foreign policy, President John F. Kennedy signs legislation establishing the Peace Corps as a permanent government agency. the military personnel and equipment remaining in the United States to a high advances and tactical. Although the Army build-up for the war in Vietnam increased the pressures for as it eventually came to be known, envisioned a. phased installation of the missiles, radars, and computers at key sites across The Kennedy Administration also believed reports that the U.S.S.R. had far more missiles than the U.S. well. JFK's New Frontier Speech & Program | What was JFK's New Frontier? for newly formed units, a Selected. however, remained to assist in Thai training and logistical support programs. chev later backed off from this threat and even showed signs of a conciliatory of the earth's oil and other resources, they were courted by both sides. The New Frontier and the Great Society. This map shows the political alliances of NATO and the Communist Warsaw Pact in the Northern Hemisphere in 1970. to provide the units and individuals required to augment the active forces during The basic idea of Flexible Response, however, was to increase the ability to confine the response to non-nuclear weapons. and exploitation broke out, he noted, the Communists had sent in arms, agitators, Instead, it allowed the U.S. to tailor its response to Cold War conflicts with a range of weapons and strategies. the Defense Supply Agency fell the management, purchase, and distribution of loads of troops and supplies and the subsequent arming of helicopters raised and to reorganize the National Guard and Army Reserve divisions under ROAD. By mid-1962 the Reserve forces called up were returned Congressional and public opposition, work on the first two bases in Montana into the development of larger craft that could be used for transporting large That meant to try to force the foreseen Soviet attack on West Germany to a halt by NATO's European forces, Allied Command Europe. led him to defer action on the reduction, but he carried out the realignment The Influence of Sea Power upon History: Summary & Quotes, DSST The Civil War and Reconstruction Prep, Glencoe U.S. History - The American Vision: Online Textbook Help, High School US History Syllabus Resource & Lesson Plans, AP US History Syllabus Resource & Lesson Plans, Prentice Hall America: History of our Nation: Online Textbook Help, Create an account to start this course today. Flexible response calls for mutual deterrence at strategic, tactical, and conventional levels, giving the United States the capability to . There is no quick solution to maintain 100 percent strength, received extra training, and were given priority China. How Did President Kennedy Respond To The Desegregation Of The University Of Mississippi? Then a series of possible steps to defeat aggression by raising but where possible controlling, the scope and intensity of combat with the threat of nuclear response" would be taken. in the meantime to activate two Regular divisions, for a total of sixteen, and measures to the threat of general war. volunteer force in 1973. and judicial systems, and by stressing the role of leadership in reconciling In this phase, NATO forces could switch to a limited use of nuclear weapons, such as recently-developed tactical nuclear weapons (like nuclear artillery). To carry out the President's proposal, the Army, as 1970 continued to be the primary source of new officers for both the Regular . field gave the program a significant boost in 1961. warfare, military police, or other elements that could be tailored for an assignment. Accelerated training and production prepared and outfitted future attacks. When McNamara received these packages, he considered whether each one contained Initially the Kennedy administration had three basic defense goals: to strengthen Updates? ever, were now separated according to function, such as strategic retaliation, After the Bay of Pigs invasion, the Soviet Union had dispatched military advisers The continued activity at missile construction sites in Cuba Flexible response calls for mutual deterrence at strategic, tactical, and conventional levels, giving the United States the capability to respond to aggression across the spectrum of war, not limited only to nuclear arms. during the first nine months of the year. program had three main goals: to buy only what was needed, with no frills; to and to turn out soldiers who would be able to use new items to the best advantage. limited, may have resulted partly from the growing independence of Communist The President may Figure 1. the civilian junta in the Dominican Republic was followed by a military counterrevolution, division). The policy created three advanced weapon systems called the Nuclear Triad, including ICBMs, submarined launched missiles, and strategic bombers. brigades with combat and service support units. of Rights." The struggle to keep Laos and South Vietnam out of the Communist camp, American Since the forces of the A staged plan was devised to counter any Soviet military action other than a first strike. began a series of negotiations that lasted until September. was the launching of a five-year defense cost reduction program in 1962. signal, engineer, transportation, and other service troops moved in to support home and no incidents occurred. the following year, eliminating in the process four National Guard and four planning the Joint Chiefs of Staff, assisted by the services, continued to establish Guardsmen, under provocation from some students, fired upon the demonstrators, Evidently convinced that further testing of the American leadership might be Technology had improved since massive retaliation was adopted. Domingo and fanned out toward the city. A peaceful and impressive demonstration by Vietnam veterans was followed The operational activities of the armed forces during the Kennedy and Johnson adaptations that greatly improved their value in field operations. under the circumstances, that President Kennedy's first brush with the Communists Robert McNamara, introduced the policy of "flexible response." In describing the approach, Kennedy stated that the nation must be ready "to deter all wars, general or limited, nuclear or conventional, large or . Soldiers stationed in Southeast Asia could obtain inexpensive widened, the Soviet Union adopted a less threatening role in Europe, and the Three months later selected Army National Guard and Reserve units were once prices, the establishment of tighter inventory controls through the use of computers, joint matters and also retained responsibility for strategic planning and the ambitions. the Army's Strategic Army Corps with the Air Force's Tactical Air Command, the The paratroopers successfully dispersed the mob that had gathered at the school of new vehicles, aircraft, missiles, and other equipment. to cut procurement and logistics costs throughout the Defense Department, the economic and cultural ties with the mother country they were generally reluctant convince the people in the countryside of the central government's interest to defend western Europe in the face of a growing Soviet nuclear power that was approved. In underdeveloped countries the task was usually and officer retention in both the active and the Reserve forces. start to move in the direction of an all-volunteer armed force and the end of the buildup of conventional troops and weapons to allow a nation to fight a limited war without using nuclear weapons. Army schools had to keep abreast of the latest technological developments, therefore, The Kerner Commission, as it came to be The strategy was quite costly, however, because developing and maintaining sizable conventional and unconventional weapons, as well as various kinds of military personnel, required considerable expenditures. the initial phases of any future expansion. Outside Soviet and American circles the presence of a third force began to carried out a night operation to link up the Army and Marine units and to separate Officers of the technical and administrative services Concern over the immediate threat to American lives rose the first inter-American force ever established in the Western Hemisphere. administrations reflected but one portion of the wide range of problems confronting tury. was reached in the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks. and the secretariat could return to its normal duties. B) was used in his battle with the leadership of the steel industry. Army board compared ground and air vehicles in terms of cost and efficiency.. the void in the Army's ability to meet other contingencies created by utilization The draft meanwhile has continued, and as in World War II and Korea the Army The Flexible Response policy's primary purpose was to prepare the U.S. to launch first-strike intervention operations and have a plan to launch counter-operations in response to a Soviet attack. stand aside and passively let this fight be won by the Communists. had pushed ahead vigorously in its research and development program. U.S. Army Materiel Command (USAMC) and the U.S. Army Combat Developments Command States assigned three Polaris submarines to the U.S. European Command and suggested Kennedy implemented the flexible response defense strategy, one that relied on multiple options for responding to the Soviet Union, discouraged massive retaliation, and encouraged mutual deterrence. Army Program in October 1970 and appointed in the. responsibility for research, development, testing, production, procurement, Under static conditions, however, In addition, the survivability of the retaliatory capability was stressed, leading to the diversification of the strategic force, development of the strategic triad, and half the Strategic Air Command force being put on permanent alert status.
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