The Armament Tide: Rearming America

by Stuart Franklin Platt and Duffrey Sigurdson

Arming the US military is an ongoing process, one of vital importance. This book will help America's leaders, educators and general public better understand how to manage the business of rearmament.... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1894694171
• ISBN13: 9781894694179
• Release Date: October 2002
• Publisher: Granville Island
• Length: 209 Pages

Customer Reviews

A Realist and a Patriot and the U.S. defense business

Admiral Platt has managed a miracle. As a leader in transforming old practices to business practices in the Pentagon 20 years ago, his additional 8 years as a defense executive leaves him with a near-singular ability to light the way for how the Pentagon might yet succeed in transforming America's military hardware agenda. Not many college sophomores will reach for this compact, brief manifesto and memoir, but it would provide any one a sharply focused treatment of issues that are often avoided. I can say that no one in the Pentagon should be without it. It's readable, doesn't bog down into the inevitable minutiae that characterizes most volumes about the defense business and it offers a serious warning -- that the U.S. defense business in general has become less competitive. That course can and should be changed. Bravo!

Applied Wisdom for National Defense Strategy

Admiral Platt speaks with the voice of experience and commands attention for his ideas. We do need to rethink our national procurement and defense strategy. I highly recommend this book for any person seeking a better understanding of military thinking and procurement, as well as the problems we as taxpayers all face. This book is a must read for Defense Department personnel and anyone seeking a balanced perspective and alternative to newspaper and media hype about defense procurement and strategy. This truly is applied wisdom by a serious thinker that will hopefully be taken to heart by our leaders in the DOD.

Compulsory Reading

In these perilous times we are infused with patriotism and a firmresolve to keep our country free and to send the word out thatwe are strong in military might and determination. Unfortunately,much of this is mere rhetoric. The present author, a retiredRear Admiral in the United States Navy, brings to the forefronthis extensive experience and great concern for the future of ourcountry by detailing our past history in the area of militaryprocurement--its shortcomings as well as its positive aspects--and a blueprint for the future. Although I feel well- informed about current events in the world, it was a startling revelationfor me to discover that I was totally unaware of the true natureof military preparedness.We may have the determination to keepour nation secure, but of necessity this must be backed by the means to do so. WE must have these means--military supplies andweapons--precisely when needed. This implies that they must beprocured well in advance as speedily and efficiently as possible. Lengthy deliberations in the industrial sector and thehalls of government may seriously impair our effectiveness in our defense. Facts and figures are provided in this book tostrengthen the argument that we must act now so that we are notcaught defenseless. The author was in the center of the area ofprocurement and had vital associations with some of the well-known personages involved, including the President of the UnitedStates. The book is replete with anecdotes and personal commentsbut never loses sight of its main theme and goal--to appriseAmerica of the absolute necessity to be always mightily preparedand that speedy procurement is the sine qua non of this objective! I strongly recommend that this book be read by notonly our representatives in government but the general publicwho should be informed.