The United States has never known military coups nor arbitrary military rule, a rarity among the nations of the world. Some might say that George Washington set the precedent in refusing to back his troops in a mutiny over unpaid wages, shortly after the Revolution. Others might argue that it is the resolve of the American people, who, in good times and bad, always have been committed to civilian control of their armed forces. Whatever the reason, this uniquely American tradition of the citizen-soldier has worked for more than 200 years.

An American medical technician treats a Somali child during a medical civic action program in Mogadishu. Today's soldiers often find themselves participating in peacemaking endeavors rather than preparing for war.

Combat Camera photo by PHCM Terry Mitchell, USN

In the modern world, however, the role of the citizen-soldier is constantly changing. Today's soldiers often find themselves building bridges in a peacemaking endeavor rather than for the battlements of war. Soldiers also assist in exercises that are designed to bring both military and civilians together in humanitarian, peacekeeping, and search and rescue missions.

In this issue, H. Allen Holmes, assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low-intensity conflict, emphasizes the importance of civil-military relations and its future in an ever-changing world. Military historian David F. Trask talks about the historic U.S. view of civilian control of the military up to World War II, from an adapted version of the USIA pamphlet, Democracy and Defense: Civilian Control of the Military in the United States. From the post-Cold War era to the present, Louis W. Goodman, dean of the School of International Service at American University, continues the focus on civil-military relations in a democracy, and looks at its future. Finally, in an interview with General John Sheehan, supreme allied commander for the Atlantic, contributing editor David Pitts asks how the NATO initiative, Partnership for Peace, has helped participating countries strengthen civil-military relations in the newly emerging democratic states.