Overview

"The General Board of the Navy was a uniquely American strategic planning organization with few analogs at the time of its establishment, except perhaps the various components of the Admiralty in Great Britain. It existed from 1900 to 1950. Then, as now, confusion reigned over what sort of fleet to design and how to build it. The General Board served as the ""balance wheel,"" or nexus, for bringing together coherent strategy and fleet design. As John T. Kuehn shows, this Board was the United States' first modern general staff in peacetime. It emerged from the trends and developments of the Progressive Era of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its creation was very much a reflection of the reformist spirit of the times that also gave birth to the Army War College, the Army General Staff, and the Chief of Naval Operations. As such it reflected a uniquely American attempt to reconcile the primacy of civilian control with the new requirements of the modern age that seemed to dictate a more formal military and naval planning establishment and associated processes and methods. Thus its name reflected corporate America as well as longstanding naval tradition to meet challenges and problems with special, temporary boards. The General Board, however, differed from these temporary boards due to its longevity. By the 1920s it had become a permanent feature of the Navy and was regarded as the premier strategic ""think tank"" for advice to the Secretary of the Navy. The author highlights how this small body wielded immense influence over its organizational life that was, on balance, innovative, progressive, and productive for the security of the United States in peace and its success in war via the mechanism of its Navy. The service of the men who comprised it is little-known, but their collaborative and creative ethos should still serve as a model for the modern analogs of today like strategic initiatives groups (SIGs). Kuehn's organizational history of this body reflects the turbulence of those times as well as provides a not too ""distant mirror"" to understand a complexities involved in building a Navy that saw the transition from coal and sail to the nuclear powered warships."

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9781682471913

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Reviews

America's First General Staff will appeal to any military enthusiast who wants to understand the U.S. Navy supremacy in the twentieth century. --The Journal of Military History Anatomy of Failure is a unique window into US politics and political strategic decision making. --Grounded Curiosity America's First General Staff explains how the U.S. Navy's leadership grappled with rapid pre-1950 change. Through this work, Professor Kuehn provides a collective intellectual biography of the Navy's leadership for the period. --Joint Force Quarterly Recipient of The University Press-CGSC Golden and Bronze Pen awards. The subtitle of this book, 'A Short History of the Rise and Fall of the General Board of the Navy, 1900-1950' pretty well sums up the scope of this book. This book gives a detailed, but readable account of the formation, life and demise of the General Board of the Navy. Its 224 pages of text are followed by several informative annexes. I recommend this book for anyone who has an interest on how military organizations manage their role and the impact members can have in establishing that role. --Starshell In America's First General Staff, Professor John T. Kuehn has written an outstanding monograph on a little-known organization that had enormous influence in shaping the U.S. Navy to fight during the two world wars.... The General Board may be history, but the need for thoughtful, diversely experienced, creative, and respectful minds to aid decision-makers in navigating complex national security problems remains. America's First General Staff offers an excellent example of what a small group of talented and dedicated professionals can do. --Military Review John T. Kuehn has drawn on his extensive research into the papers of the Navy's General Board to argue that the Board played an essential role in the Navy's successful effort to become a modern organization. This story, interesting in itself, also has relevance for today's Navy as its leaders face the challenges of organizing to deal with an often-hostile digital environment. --Tom Hone, author of Power and Change: The Administrative History of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, 1946-1986 John Kuehn has written a great book and one that deserves to be studied and built upon today, when we desperately need again such Boards and Admiralty in the Allied navies. A great read, thank you. --The NAVY Magazine Given the steady flood of books about strategy, it is remarkable how few there are about tactics. Friedman has filled that gap with a short, sharp piece of analysis that highlights the physical, mental, and moral dimensions of conflict. -- Foreign Affairs This first-rate study brings to light the important accomplishments of the non-statutory General Board of the Navy, which functioned as a major arbiter of warship construction and maritime strategy throughout the first half of the twentieth century. John Kuehn presents an excellent read for anyone interested in the work of the General Board and the Naval officers who led it until its dissolution January 1951. --Paul E. Pedisich, author of Congress Buys a Navy

�John T. Kuehn has drawn on his extensive research into the papers of the Navy�s General Board to argue that the Board played an essential role in the Navy�s successful effort to become a modern organization. This story, interesting in itself, also has relevance for today�s Navy as its leaders face the challenges of organizing to deal with an often hostile digital environment.� �Tom Hone, author of Power and Change, The Administrative History of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, 1946-1986 �This first-rate study brings to light the important accomplishments of the non-statutory General Board of the Navy, which functioned as a major arbiter of warship construction and maritime strategy throughout the first half of the twentieth century. John Kuehn presents an excellent read for anyone interested in the work of the General Board and the Naval officers who led it until its dissolution January 1951.��Paul E. Pedisich, author of Congress Buys a Navy This first-rate study brings to light the important accomplishments of the non-statutory General Board of the Navy, which functioned as a major arbiter of warship construction and maritime strategy throughout the first half of the twentieth century. John Kuehn presents an excellent read for anyone interested in the work of the General Board and the Naval officers who led it until its dissolution January 1951. --Paul E. Pedisich, author of Congress Buys a Navy John T. Kuehn has drawn on his extensive research into the papers of the Navy's General Board to argue that the Board played an essential role in the Navy's successful effort to become a modern organization. This story, interesting in itself, also has relevance for today's Navy as its leaders face the challenges of organizing to deal with an often hostile digital environment. --Tom Hone, author of Power and Change, The Administrative History of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, 1946-1986

Author Information

John T. Kuehn is a retired naval aviator who completed numerous cruises aboard a variety of aircraft carriers. Kuehn teaches military history at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College since July 2000. He earned his Ph.D. in History from Kansas State University in 2007.

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