Thesis (M.A.)--The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2008. / Directed by Amy Vines; submitted to the Dept. of English. Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Jan. 28, 2010). Includes bibliographical references (p. 81-85).

Through their stories, South African Defence Force (SADF) veterans of the Border War participate in the historical revival of South Africa’s involvement in the Angolan conflict, 1966-1989. Their engagement in the Border War discourse sets these veterans apart for an analysis of their motivations to participate and how their views compare and contrast with one another. SADF veterans are reconstructing their past within their present context in the new South Africa. Their struggle to rectify public knowledge and perceptions of the past through the provision of their personal memories is a growing trend within South Africa, one that has become a conversation between the various competing narratives.

Foreign Affairs: Policy, Culture, and the Making of Love and War in Vietnam investigates the interplay between war and society leading to and during the Vietnam War. This project intertwines histories of foreign relations, popular culture, and gender and sexuality as lenses for understanding international power relations during the global Cold War more broadly. By examining sexual encounters between American service members and Vietnamese civilian women, this dissertation argues that relationships ranging from prostitution to dating, marriage, and rape played a significant role in the diplomacy, logistics, and international reception of the war. American disregard for South Vietnamese morality laws in favor of bolstering GI morale in the early war years contributed to the instability of the alliance and led to a rise in anti-American activities, health concerns, and military security threats. The length of the war in addition to the difficulty for service members to definitively identify enemy forces placed stress on soldiers. Publicized cases of rape and disagreements over responsibility for orphans or children born outside marriage to U.S. servicemen in the later war years further deteriorated relations. Negotiating these relationships resulted in implicit assignments of power between the United States and their allies in South Vietnam. In addition to the bi-lateral relations between the U.S. and South Vietnam, North Vietnamese and National Liberation Front propaganda citing the GI-civilian relationships sparked security concerns and further threatened the alliance. This dissertation further contends that encounters provided propaganda material for opposition forces, strained the overall war effort at home, and shaped how Americans remember the war.

My study concerns the social recruitment of infantry soldiers in the Swedish standing army ( indelta armén). The 19th century Swedish army was composed of three parts : hired troops , the conscripts and above all the ”indelta armén”. Indelta armén was unique in the world because of its organizational form. It consisted of infantry soldiers, naval men and cavalry soldiers, which were supported by the landowning farmers. Normally two farmers had the responsibility to find an infantry soldier, to pay him an annual wage and to give him a small-crofters holding; at least this was intended when the system was first organized in the 1680s. The famous author Vilhelm Moberg has written a well-known novel ”Raskens” about one of these soldiers portraying also the whole system as well as the surrounding peasant society. All of the 20000 concerned soldiers lived in the Swedish countryside among the rest of the population. They all got special names,( for example meaning Quick, Prompt, Faithful) still existing as family names of Sweden today. The study concentrates on the question of the social importance of this system in a period of rapid transformation of Swedish society, i.e the end of the 19th century. The most important questions dealt with are: the ones concerning social and geographical recruitment of soldiers (i.e. those ôf the indelta armén), the means of support and education given to these soldiers in special army training schools. One part of the book concerns social mobility among ex-soldiers and a minor study treats their family structure. / <p>Diss. Umeå : Umeå universitet, 1986</p> / digitalisering@umu

The horse is an essential component of New Zealand's social, environmental, economic and military history, yet despite this obvious truth, it is a topic which was been overlooked by New Zealand historiography. The horse's role throughout our history has been identified by prominent environmental historians as an area in desperate need of examination; however, it is one yet to be undertaken. As far as New Zealand history books would suggest the horse was good for the racing industry and little else, and even within these histories, its origins seem to be of little historical significance. In military histories much has been written on the impact of New Zealand troops during the Anglo-Boer War and World War One, with emphasis placed on the role of mounted infantry in the many military histories published over the past century. Yet an examination of the specific experience of the horse has been ignored. Veterinary histories have been produced which give detailed accounts of the role and care of the horse, but offer nothing which provides a picture of the war experience from the horse's point-of-view. In an effort to start filling the gap in New Zealand's equine historiography,this thesis will use the late nineteenth and early twentieth century military context as a microcosm for the history of New Zealand's horse. By first tracing the history of the horse through 5,000 years of military experience to its early-nineteenth century New Zealand origins, the history of New Zealand's military horse will explore issues of environment, role, mobilisation, transport, care and casualities to create an informed hypothesis of what New Zealand's military horse experienced in these two moderm wars. The nature of war is awful in itself, but when animals are unconsciously included in the context, as horses were in these two modem wars, the impact of the experience is nothing less than horrific.

The American Civil War resulted in lasting consequences for the British Empire’s remote Pacific colonies of British Columbia and Vancouver Island. Britons in the colonies mobilized to address the issue of defending against a potential American attack. Despite concerns surrounding the possibility of an American invasion, the conflict increased solidarity towards the United States, as public opinion in British Columbia and Vancouver Island became more pro-Union through the course of the American Civil War, with local residents regularly celebrating holidays like the Fourth of July. Local newspapers welcomed efforts by the American government to finally abolish slave labour, yet Victoria’s African American community continued to face racial discrimination, which was often blamed on resident Southerners. The conflict ultimately helped in improving public perceptions of the United States, but not without raising significant fears of American military might on the continent. / Graduate

In 1955, the New Zealand Government authorised the creation of a Special Forces unit to operate with British counterparts in Malaya to defeat a communist-inspired guerrilla insurgency. Between 1956 and 1971 elements of the New Zealand Special Air Service (SAS) were deployed on active service four times. These operational deployments included periods of time in Malaya, Thailand, Borneo and South Vietnam. The research illustrates the chronological progression of the New Zealand SAS through two of its most influential active service campaigns by examining how commitments to the Borneo ‘Confrontation’ in 1965 and 1966 directly and indirectly influenced the deployment to South Vietnam between December 1968 and February 1971. The mission of the New Zealand SAS in South Vietnam was to ‘assist in providing long range reconnaissance patrols’ that would support the larger infantry elements in defeating the Vietcong and North Vietnamese Army enemy. New Zealand SAS soldiers participated in 169 Australian SAS patrols in South Vietnam. Of those, 137 were commanded by the New Zealanders themselves. The research describes what the New Zealand SAS encountered during nearly two and a half years in South Vietnam; from the tactical intensity associated with small five-man patrols often observing or contacting much larger enemy formations, to the uncompromising professional standards that were expected of all members regardless of situation or circumstances and the influences of experienced Patrol Commanders, and the frustrations and inflexibility which characterised the relationship with their Australian counterparts. The research also further examines the underlying issue of overall strategic success and value of a small nationally-identifiable and strongly independent military unit that was compelled to operate under the command of larger Special Forces coalition counterparts and the impact different political, doctrinal, tactical cultural and cognitive characteristics had on these joint-operational deployments. The size of the New Zealand SAS contribution to the Australian SAS Squadron combined with the command arrangements placed upon it, also dictated that the deployments were never likely to be able to exert influence in any ‘independent’ or nationally-identifiable sense, and the relationships, the types of patrol operations conducted, and the value of these operations, would ultimately see many New Zealand SAS veterans largely dissatisfied with the overall performance of the deployment. Nevertheless, the strength of New Zealand SAS operations in South Vietnam came from its practical application of unique New Zealand Special Forces methodology and field-craft which had been fundamentally shaped and developed in Borneo. The New Zealand SAS operations in South Vietnam and Borneo - the demonstration of the highest standards of patrol techniques, tracking, reconnaissance, ambushing and fire discipline, and above all, operational professionalism that has been the hallmark of New Zealand's military history – provided the evolutionary ‘platforms’ from which today’s highly skilled and enviable New Zealand Special Forces have emerged.

In 1955, the New Zealand Government authorised the creation of a Special Forces unit to operate with British counterparts in Malaya to defeat a communist-inspired guerrilla insurgency. Between 1956 and 1971 elements of the New Zealand Special Air Service (SAS) were deployed on active service four times. These operational deployments included periods of time in Malaya, Thailand, Borneo and South Vietnam. The research illustrates the chronological progression of the New Zealand SAS through two of its most influential active service campaigns by examining how commitments to the Borneo ‘Confrontation’ in 1965 and 1966 directly and indirectly influenced the deployment to South Vietnam between December 1968 and February 1971. The mission of the New Zealand SAS in South Vietnam was to ‘assist in providing long range reconnaissance patrols’ that would support the larger infantry elements in defeating the Vietcong and North Vietnamese Army enemy. New Zealand SAS soldiers participated in 169 Australian SAS patrols in South Vietnam. Of those, 137 were commanded by the New Zealanders themselves. The research describes what the New Zealand SAS encountered during nearly two and a half years in South Vietnam; from the tactical intensity associated with small five-man patrols often observing or contacting much larger enemy formations, to the uncompromising professional standards that were expected of all members regardless of situation or circumstances and the influences of experienced Patrol Commanders, and the frustrations and inflexibility which characterised the relationship with their Australian counterparts. The research also further examines the underlying issue of overall strategic success and value of a small nationally-identifiable and strongly independent military unit that was compelled to operate under the command of larger Special Forces coalition counterparts and the impact different political, doctrinal, tactical cultural and cognitive characteristics had on these joint-operational deployments. The size of the New Zealand SAS contribution to the Australian SAS Squadron combined with the command arrangements placed upon it, also dictated that the deployments were never likely to be able to exert influence in any ‘independent’ or nationally-identifiable sense, and the relationships, the types of patrol operations conducted, and the value of these operations, would ultimately see many New Zealand SAS veterans largely dissatisfied with the overall performance of the deployment. Nevertheless, the strength of New Zealand SAS operations in South Vietnam came from its practical application of unique New Zealand Special Forces methodology and field-craft which had been fundamentally shaped and developed in Borneo. The New Zealand SAS operations in South Vietnam and Borneo - the demonstration of the highest standards of patrol techniques, tracking, reconnaissance, ambushing and fire discipline, and above all, operational professionalism that has been the hallmark of New Zealand's military history – provided the evolutionary ‘platforms’ from which today’s highly skilled and enviable New Zealand Special Forces have emerged.

In 1955, the New Zealand Government authorised the creation of a Special Forces unit to operate with British counterparts in Malaya to defeat a communist-inspired guerrilla insurgency. Between 1956 and 1971 elements of the New Zealand Special Air Service (SAS) were deployed on active service four times. These operational deployments included periods of time in Malaya, Thailand, Borneo and South Vietnam. The research illustrates the chronological progression of the New Zealand SAS through two of its most influential active service campaigns by examining how commitments to the Borneo ‘Confrontation’ in 1965 and 1966 directly and indirectly influenced the deployment to South Vietnam between December 1968 and February 1971. The mission of the New Zealand SAS in South Vietnam was to ‘assist in providing long range reconnaissance patrols’ that would support the larger infantry elements in defeating the Vietcong and North Vietnamese Army enemy. New Zealand SAS soldiers participated in 169 Australian SAS patrols in South Vietnam. Of those, 137 were commanded by the New Zealanders themselves. The research describes what the New Zealand SAS encountered during nearly two and a half years in South Vietnam; from the tactical intensity associated with small five-man patrols often observing or contacting much larger enemy formations, to the uncompromising professional standards that were expected of all members regardless of situation or circumstances and the influences of experienced Patrol Commanders, and the frustrations and inflexibility which characterised the relationship with their Australian counterparts. The research also further examines the underlying issue of overall strategic success and value of a small nationally-identifiable and strongly independent military unit that was compelled to operate under the command of larger Special Forces coalition counterparts and the impact different political, doctrinal, tactical cultural and cognitive characteristics had on these joint-operational deployments. The size of the New Zealand SAS contribution to the Australian SAS Squadron combined with the command arrangements placed upon it, also dictated that the deployments were never likely to be able to exert influence in any ‘independent’ or nationally-identifiable sense, and the relationships, the types of patrol operations conducted, and the value of these operations, would ultimately see many New Zealand SAS veterans largely dissatisfied with the overall performance of the deployment. Nevertheless, the strength of New Zealand SAS operations in South Vietnam came from its practical application of unique New Zealand Special Forces methodology and field-craft which had been fundamentally shaped and developed in Borneo. The New Zealand SAS operations in South Vietnam and Borneo - the demonstration of the highest standards of patrol techniques, tracking, reconnaissance, ambushing and fire discipline, and above all, operational professionalism that has been the hallmark of New Zealand's military history – provided the evolutionary ‘platforms’ from which today’s highly skilled and enviable New Zealand Special Forces have emerged.

Thesis (M. of Military Art and Science)--U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, 2007. / The original document contains color images. Title from title page of PDF document (viewed on May 27, 2008). Includes bibliographic references.