Committee Serial No. 55. Investigates allegations of improper and inefficient utilization of military personnel. Focuses on proposal for use of civilian personnel for many noncombat military jobs and improper use of military personnel to perform personal services for superiors.

Defense Manpower Planning discusses the important set of national security issues related to defense manpower for the 1980s. The topics in the text focus on the problems of manpower acquisition and retention. The historical background and description of the military power during the 1970s and 1980s are given in detail. A military manpower chronology is provided. The book enumerates some of the manpower issues and debates. Such salient issues as the quantity, quality, socio-economic factors, and the issue of cost, combat effectiveness, and readiness factors are carefully considered. After listing the issues, solutions are then presented. The variants of the all-volunteer force, of conscription, and combining volunteers and conscripts are suggested. A part of the book focuses on active duty forces. The issue of employing women in the military is fully addressed. A description of combat is also tackled. A section of the text explains the relationship between precision guided munitions and the volunteer force. The book will provide useful information to defense military planners, historians, and students of history.

These essays set the relationship between the Army and society in the context of the 20th century as a whole. They then consider the key areas of current controversy - the pressure on the Army caused by changes in society, the Army's "right to be different", race, homosexuality and gender.