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15 Army Hist. 1 (1990)

handle is hein.milandgov/aryhsy0015 and id is 1 raw text is: ARMY HISTORY THE PROFESSIONAL BULLETIN OF ARMY HISTOR Y PB40-90-2 (No. 15) Washington, .C. Summer 199 General Carl E. Vuono, Chief of Staff, U. S. Army Remarks to the Conference of Army Historians 29 March 1990 The L ghth Confrence afArmy Histori ns 29 March 419 was Tpped bya rhou ghrprovokng addrss by &enc ai VuwnO, reproduc d here as r'iin Ovcr tw huMndrd Army hiswrwns from a, rthe Un ted Swte and overseas attended the f< mfe'r'ence I am pleased to be here as you conclude this (7onlerence of Army Histortans at a time in om history when so many excitig, important. and new ihmgs are happenint tg our Army. You know that better than most because you are the ste wards of our past. You have always been vital to our professlin. but today as we confront an era of dramatic change and shape the Army of the future your work becomes or paramount importance. For if we are to create the kind of Army this counr will require in the 1990s and beyond, we must understand very well the lessons of our history, and we must properly apply those lessons to the challenges we confront. I believe that what we as a nation do over the next year will largely determine whether historians fifty years from n w will look back on the '90s as the datiig of a new era of peace and freedom or as yea another violent chapter in lhe story of humanity. The decisions of 1990 are going I carry us far into the next century, and the Unted States Army will be acrucial element indeternnin n which path the community of nations follows. So toight I'd ike to di us with you my plan for TIe evolutIon of the Army in this uncertain time--wiltb special emphasis on the role of history- The tudyofhlsrory,inrmy view,is of profound importance in shaping the Army. The three great former Chie fs of Military History here tonight know very well that everyone in this room is a criti al playerin this process.1Historiansmore thananyone, underitad the context within which the events of today att taking place and the lessons that we must glean from the thousands of years of human exper ence. Alongside the other members of the Army team, you share a vital responsibility nthe evolution of the Army into the force our nation will need in the wienty4 irst century As we shape the future Army. the single most important aspect of the decade of the '90s will comntine to be the international environment in which w operate. think it is not an understatement to say that we are witnessing changes of historic propornions--changes that were undreamed of just a few short months ago. Our country is alive with a sense of optimism and hope unmatched since the early days of the 1920s. But I submit to you who understand history that we cannot hope to give substance to this optimism, and we cannot exploit the oppormmnities that are within our grasp, without a (irm grounding in history For history teaches that change by itself does not necessarily bring about peace and security. Indeed, the past has marny examples in which the collapse of might y empires ripped apart the es- tablished order, resulting in uncontrolled instability and unt ld human suffering. Recent events affirm that there is no re ason to believe the shatnenng of the Soviet empire will he any different. As we all know too well, the United States has witnessed dramatic changes in Europe twice before in this centiry-changes different in origm but simi- lar in magnitude to those we face today. The fir-t time was n 191$ when, in the aftermath of what Woodrow Wilson described as the war to end all wars, the United States chose to abandon a chaotic and bleeding urope to fend for itsel. Twenty-five years later the world had paid the price for short-

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