Conference of Army Historians

The U.S. Army’s Conference of Army Historians is an extraordinary training opportunity for U.S. Army historians, both military and civilian.  Attendance at the conference is strongly recommended for members of the Army Historical Program because it is the only Army-wide professional development event for U.S. Army historians.  The conference is, however, open to the public, and historians from other federal agencies, academe, and elsewhere also regularly attend.  The conference consists of training seminars and panel discussions at which Army historians present papers to their peers.  The conference is hosted biennially in the Washington, D.C., area by the U.S. Army Center of Military History and the Army Historical Foundation.

The upcoming 2011 Conference of Army Historians is entitled “Armies in Persistent Conflict” and will cover a variety of conflicts—both U.S. and international—encompassing a broad range of time periods.  Please see the Call for Papers for additional information.

General:

Since 1974, the U.S. Army Center of Military History has hosted seventeen biennial Conferences of Army Historians. The primary purpose of the conference is to allow the Chief of Military History to set a focus for Army historical efforts, which in turn supports the development of both Army doctrine and training and development.  The Chief of Military History is responsible, per Army Regulation 870-5, for the management of the Army Historical Program, which includes all Army historical activities. One of the principal tools for managing the Army’s history program is the conference. The conference is open to all historians and is designed as a dynamic dialogue for historians and others to freely exchange ideas and engage in extensive discussions on U.S. Army history.  It is also the only Army-wide training and professional development event for Army historians. Attendees include Army civilian historians, officers who hold the skill identifier 5X (historian), officers and soldiers assigned to the Army’s military history detachments, representatives from Headquarters, Department of the Army, staff sections, other services, academe, and international visitors.

Format:

The event, which is held over three days, consists of training sessions and the formal presentation and discussion of professional papers. The conference will also include a one-day training workshop on a selected topic. Conference participants will have the opportunity to present their cutting-edge scholarship and research to a distinguished body of military and academic historians and professionals.  Attendees will be divided up into groups of panels, usually composed of three to four people, focusing on a specific topic. Presenters will have approximately twenty minutes each to discuss their findings.

Professional development:

The conference process promotes high standards of accuracy and scholarship because it requires the historians to publicly identify and present their research and submit it to peer review. Moreover, this event provides historians with an opportunity to network and explore other potentially rewarding areas of future inquiry. Regular attendance at the biennial conference is necessary for the professional development of Army historians.  The Army Civilian Training, Education, and Development System (ACTEDS), which is the career development plan, is premised on the attendance of Army historians at the conference. In short, participation in this conference is essential to the professional development of Army historians and the standardization of methods and procedures throughout the Army historical community.

Previous Conferences:

2009: “Phase IV Operations: Exiting War”

2007: “The U.S. Army and Irregular Warfare, 1776-2007”

2004: “Military Professionalization: the Quest for Excellence”

2002: “The Cold War Army, 1947-1989”

2000: “The Korean War: The Fiftieth Anniversary”

1998: “The U.S. Army in the American Century, 1898-1998”

1996: “The Early Years of the Cold War, 1945-1958”

1994: “The U.S. Army in the war Against Japan, 1943-45”

1992: “Writing the History of the Gulf War and its Aftermath,” and “The U.S. Army in World War II: The Mediterranean and European Theaters”

1990: “The Coming of the Second World War: The Last Years of Peace, the First Months of War”

1987: “Expanding our Vision”

1985: “A Re-evaluation of the Command History Program”

1983: “Tools of the Trade”

1981: “Making the Military History Program Work”

1979: “The Uses of Military History”

1976: “Vanguard of Freedom, United States Army Bicentennial: 1775-1975”

1974: “The Role of the Army Historian”