From the book's Foreword: In the early 1970s, the U.S. Army Center of Military History contracted with BDM Corporation for a history of U.S. efforts to counter Soviet air and missile threats during the Cold War. The resulting two-volume History of Strategic Air and Ballistic Missile Defense covers the years 1945-1972 when the strategic arms competition between the United States and the Soviet Union was at its height. The study was first published for limited distribution in 1975 and recently declassified with minimal redaction. These volumes address the passive and active defense strategies, technologies, and techniques adopted by both U.S. and Soviet defense planners. Much of their actions centered around three common questions: How might we be attacked? How shall we defend our country? What can technology do to solve the basic problems of defending against this new intercontinental threat?

This is a print on demand edition of a hard to find publication. This is the second of two vol. on the history of strategic air and ballistic missile defense from 1945 to 1972. It covers 1955¿1972, and is organized into five interrelated chapters. Chapter I provides a comparison of U.S. and Soviet strategies, Chapters II and III deal with U.S. strategy and Soviet strategy, while Chapters IV and V cover U.S. systems and Soviet systems. The Executive Summary has three major groupings: one, to reflect the contextual setting of decision-making, circa 1955; the second, to highlight strategic air defense policy comparisons and contrasts, 1955¿1972; and a third, to present judgments and conclusions about the results of the play of factors and perceptions which molded air defense decisions during these years. Illustrations.

This book provides readers with an in-depth understanding of the professional development of two notable and highly accomplished naval officers and their contributions to the development of the Aegis Weapons System. The main argument is that there was no single career path or set of formal qualifications for achieving excellence in the naval profession as characterized by selection for Flag rank. One of the major points is the revelation that a combination of essential personal traits and qualities and important operational and technical experiences fundamental to the nature of naval warfare are critical to developing highly competent and confident officers. Such officers are needed to lead major acquisition programs capable of delivering innovative weapons systems for a twenty-first t century Navy facing new age threats.

Examines the economic, political, and military events that shaped legal administration in the United States Navy from colonial times and led to the establishment of the Navy Judge Advocate General's (JAG) Corps in 1967. Traces the legislative and executive processes which influenced Navy legal affairs. Provides a unique perspective into the workings of American government from the time of its founding to the present.