The influence of strategic and organizational cultures on the Revolution in Military Affairs within the U.S. Army

This thesis explores the influence of culture on the requirements for a Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA). It assesses how cultural factors at the strategic and the U.S. Army organizational levels may affect the changes required for realizing an RMA. Defined as a paradigmatic shift in the conduct of military affairs spurred by the confluence of organizational change with new and existing technologies and concepts of operations, the RMA has long been a controversial analytical construct. This thesis accepts the premise that the history of warfare can be interpreted as a series of RMAs. It explores the complex and powerful influence of American strategic culture and the organizational culture of the U.S. Army on the organizational, doctrinal, technology, funding and other factors vital to the realization of an RMA. The thesis compares the influence of U.S. strategic and Army organizational culture on the RMA during the interwar period (1919–1941) and the contemporary period (since the 2011 withdrawal of U.S. combat forces from Iraq) to highlight similarities and differences that U.S. military and civilian leaders can learn from to change the paradigm of military affairs in America’s favor.