Journal of the United States Infantry Association

Journal of the United States Infantry Association
Title	Journal of the United States Infantry Association
Discipline	Infantry studies
Language	English
Publisher	United States Infantry Association
Country	United States
Frequency	Monthly
Firstdate	1922

Contents

Journal of the United States Infantry Association The Journal of the United States Infantry Association was a periodical associated with the United States Army infantry community that addressed professional practice, doctrine, and tactics. It served as a forum connecting officers, institutions, and campaigns, engaging readers involved with Fort Benning, Fort Bragg, Pentagon, United States Military Academy, and units deployed to World War I, World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam War. The journal linked contemporary operations, historical studies, and doctrinal debates involving figures such as John J. Pershing, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Omar Bradley, George S. Patton, and institutions including United States Army Infantry School.

History

The publication emerged in the interwar period amid post-World War I professionalization efforts led by veterans and staff officers connected to Infantry Branch (United States Army), American Expeditionary Forces, and veterans' organizations like the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars. Early editors drew on networks around Fort Leavenworth, Army War College, National Defense Act of 1920, and scholars from Harvard University and Columbia University who had advised on mobilization. During World War II, coverage expanded to include reports from theaters such as North African Campaign, Italian Campaign, Pacific War, and commanders tied to Douglas MacArthur, Chester W. Nimitz, and Bernard Montgomery. Cold War-era issues chronicled counterinsurgency debates influenced by operations in Korea, Vietnam War, and interventions like Operation Just Cause while addressing doctrine from TRADOC and policy shifts under secretaries like Robert McNamara.

The journal maintained editorial offices with contributors drawn from United States Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, and civilian academics at Princeton University, Yale University, Johns Hopkins University, and Georgetown University. Submission guidelines emphasized manuscript standards comparable to journals at RAND Corporation, Brookings Institution, and Hoover Institution, and peer review involved retired officers connected to 82nd Airborne Division, 1st Infantry Division, and 101st Airborne Division. Editorial policy balanced historic analyses referencing Battle of Gettysburg, Meuse-Argonne Offensive, and Battle of Belleau Wood with contemporary doctrine reviews citing publications from United States Army Training and Doctrine Command, Joint Chiefs of Staff, and legislative oversight by United States Congress committees.

Typical issues combined after-action reports from campaigns like Operation Desert Storm, doctrinal essays referencing Combined Arms, historical retrospectives on engagements such as Battle of the Bulge and Somme, and technical pieces on weapons systems like the M1 Abrams, M16 rifle, Browning Automatic Rifle, and support from Field Artillery School. Articles examined leadership studies invoking George Washington, Ulysses S. Grant, and Robert E. Lee alongside modern commanders such as Norman Schwarzkopf and Colin Powell. The journal published analyses of training methods from Ranger School, expeditionary logistics tied to Soviet–Afghan War lessons, and tactical innovation influenced by thinkers associated with Frederick the Great, Carl von Clausewitz, and authors at Small Wars Journal.

Circulation targeted active-duty officers at Fort Hood, Fort Riley, Fort Carson, reserve components including Army National Guard and United States Army Reserve, and civilian defense professionals at Department of Defense and defense contractors like Lockheed Martin and Boeing. Subscriptions reached academic libraries at Air University, National Defense University, and metropolitan repositories such as Library of Congress and New York Public Library. International distribution connected allied institutions in North Atlantic Treaty Organization member states, academies like Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr, and liaison officers from Australian Defence Force and Canadian Armed Forces.

Contributors included senior officers and thinkers: essays or reports by figures associated with Omar N. Bradley, William Westmoreland, Hyman G. Rickover (on logistics), Alexander Haig, Raymond Odierno, and scholars from MIT, Stanford University, and University of Chicago. Landmark articles assessed campaigns like Normandy landings analyses, doctrinal shifts after Tet Offensive, and technical reviews of small arms referenced in policy debates involving Nunn–McCurdy Act and procurement cases with General Dynamics. Biographical pieces covered leaders such as Erwin Rommel, Arthur Currie, and Isoroku Yamamoto to draw lessons for infantry tactics.

The journal influenced doctrine development at United States Army Infantry School and provided source material cited in monographs from Combat Studies Institute and reports at Center for Strategic and International Studies. Reviews in periodicals like Parameters (journal), citations in dissertations at Columbia University, and references in congressional hearings on conflicts such as Iraq War and Afghanistan War attest to its reach. While praised by institutions such as Association of the United States Army for professional development, it also drew critique from alternative publications like Marine Corps Gazette and Armed Forces Journal regarding interpretations of counterinsurgency and mechanized doctrine.

Category:United States military journals