Real Organizational Transformation: Task Force Delta and the U.S. Army

Abstract

In the wake of the Vietnam War and with the end of conscription, the United States Army faced an organizational crisis: having been accused by the American body politic of losing a war, rife with drug use and racial tension, and experiencing reductions in end strength and budgets without a concomitant reduction in mission, the Army had little precedent on how to convert from a conscript force to a professional force. Ten years later, this same organization conducted one of the most decisive combat campaigns in modern history during Operation DESERT STORM. This paper explores one of the major policy initiatives that led to this successful transformation: Task Force DELTA, an unusual and perhaps unique working group of officers and civilians from the military, government, academia and the corporate sectors united in one goal – creating an effective, vital Army. The paper is a case study in successful organizational and social transformation and serves as an important historical datum for scholars interested in the organizational aspects of national security.