Resistance to Paradigm Change: Potential Crisis for the U.S. Army and the All-Volunteer Force

Abstract

Abstract : The U.S. Army's ability to meet current demands for land combat power in the execution of the National Military Strategy has reached a critical stage. For the first time the All-Volunteer Force must sustain a lengthy conflict with significant amounts of ground combat power. This paper examines the ability of the All-Volunteer Force to meet the manpower needs of the U.S. Army. There are significant issues with the All-Volunteer Force that point toward a crisis for the U.S. Army. The U.S. Army must first recognize the problem and subsequently plan to avert a potential crisis. As a framework to look at the All-Volunteer Force, this paper used Thomas Kuhn's Paradigm Theory. Kuhn theorized that once a paradigm is accepted, guiding principles or the normal science of a paradigm are established. However, very often anomalies happen that the normal science cannot explain. Defenders of the paradigm change the rules to keep the paradigm rather than change the paradigm itself. Finally, crisis occurs and must be resolved either through the paradigm or by replacing the paradigm.