Oral History in the U.S. Army Robert Mages Chief, Oral History Branch U. S. Army Military History Institute Army Heritage and Education Center 950 Soldiers Drive Carlisle Barracks, PA 17013-5021 717.245.4054 robert.mages@us.army.mil http://www.usahec.org

Army Heritage and Education Center Outline Introduction to the Army History Program (AHP) Defining Army Oral History Oral History in the U.S. Army: Programs and Uses Existing challenges and the way ahead

Army Heritage and Education Center AHP Rules of the Road Army Regulation 870–5 Historical Activities Military History: Responsibilities, Policies, and Procedures Headquarters Department of the Army Washington, DC 21 September 2007 UNCLASSIFIED Doctrine and regulation define roles and scope of work. General guidelines common to all. Not prescriptive, allows for decentralized execution and flexible response to unit needs. The Army History Program is defined and shaped by doctrine and regulation: AR 870 – 5 “Military History: Responsibilities, Policies and Procedures” FM 1-20 “Military History Operations”

Army Heritage and Education Center AHP Rules of the Road Army Regulation 870–5 Historical Activities Military History: Responsibilities, Policies, and Procedures Headquarters Department of the Army Washington, DC 21 September 2007 UNCLASSIFIED “Military history is the collective memory of a unit or an entire armed force . Its use by units and individuals can teach valuable lessons from their recent past or provide unique insight into more distant times. This enhances unit performance and increases esprit de corps.” FM 1-20 Military History Operations “The AHP includes all historical activities within the active Army, the Army National Guard of the United States, and the U.S. Army Reserve. The mission of the AHP is to preserve, critically interpret, disseminate, and teach military history; provide historical advice; and stimulate historical mindedness within the Army and throughout the nation.” U.S. Army Regulation 870 – 5 “Military History” Military History – definition and purpose are defined and outlined by these documents. The Army History Program is designed to help our Army use the past to inform decisions that impact it’s present and future. AHP provides products to educate and assists staffs and schools throughout the Army.

Army Heritage and Education Center AHP - The Players Center of Military History (CMH) Military History Institute (USAMHI) Combat Studies Institute (CSI) Major Command Historians (MACOM) Combatant Command Historians (COCOM) Army Component Command Historians (ACC) Related Organizations Center for Army Lessons Learned (CALL) Strategic Studies Institute (SSI) Operate in a Joint Environment Center of Military History (CMH) - prepares the official history of the U.S. Army in peace and in war, along with other historical works; determines and publishes the lineage and honors of specified Army units; and determines the official designation of Army units and maintains historical data on all Army units. TRAINS AND SUPPORTS MILITARY HISTORY DETACHMENTS. Military History Institute (USAMHI) - collects, preserves, and provides to researchers and scholars source materials on American military history. As the Army’s official central repository for non-record historical source material, the institute strives to perpetuate the history and traditions of the Army, its role in the development of the United States, and the deeds of the men and women involved in its development. Combat Studies Institute (CSI) - Provides the foundation for military history studies at the Command and General Staff College by presenting instruction in military history. This instruction is designed so as to examine, in depth, the evolution of military theory, the art of war, and the nature of battle. The faculty of CSI is also charged by the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) commander to undertake original historical investigations of subjects of relevance to current doctrinal and operational concerns of the Army. Major Command Historians (MACOM) - The command historian collects and preserves the institutional memory of the organization. He/she is the expert on the history of that organization and prepares annual command histories and historical monographs and coordinates the MACOM history program. Combatant Command Historians (COCOM) - The headquarters of each unified combatant command has a command history office staffed by one or more civilian historians. The unified command historian is responsible for the development of historical policy and planning for the unified command and for the execution of joint historical operations within the unified command’s geographic or functional area of responsibility. Army Component Command Historians (ACC) – The senior historian in the Army component of a joint operation. The ACCH serves as a special staff officer and works under the direction of the chief of staff or the secretary of the general staff. COCOM and ACC historians live at the sharp end. They serve on the staff of their respective commands and support the mission of their units. There are other organizations that conduct detailed interviews that may be considered by some to be Oral Histories. These include the Center for Army Lessons Learned (CALL) and the Strategic Studies Institute (SSI). This material is important and contribute to the public record but it is not necessarily oral history. Relationships are NOT hierarchical. Each organizations coordinates with and supports the other in order to accomplish the overall mission.

Army Heritage and Education Center AHP - The Players Schools & Institutes ACCH & MHD COCOMS MACOMS

THE BOTTOM LINE: AHP documents the actions of these men and their commanders, accurately, critically and clearly in order to create a useful record that may be examined for lessons learned. “The lessons of war are painfully learned, yet with war over are quickly forgotten until it is time to begin learning them again by the same painful process as before. They can at least be chronicled by the historian, to facilitate the relearning.” Mark S. Watson

Army Heritage and Education Center Defining Army Oral History “Oral history is a field of study and a method of gathering, preserving and interpreting the voices and memories of people, communities, and participants in past events.” American Oral History Association “Oral history activities, an integral part of the Army History Program, focus on persons, events, and topics of historical interest to the Army. They are conducted to obtain historical information that may not otherwise be recorded. Oral history materials are official Army records.” U.S. Army Regulation 870 – 5 “Military History” Oral History Transcripts are considered Agency histories and selected background materials (DA Pam 25-403). Prepared using U.S. Army funds and materials. Must go through classification and disposition process. - An unedited transcript of an interview is neither an oral history nor a substitute, from the perspective of Army records management, for the original recording. Require significant preparation, editing and vetting.

Army Heritage and Education Center Defining Army Oral History Oral History has been a primary source for military historians since ancient times. Thucydides – Pioneered the use of Oral History by interviewing soldiers and statesmen for his work “The Peloponnesian Wars” S.L.A. Marshall - The father of U.S. Army Oral History. He conducted post combat interviews, debriefing soldiers immediately after battle during World War Two.

Army Heritage and Education Center Oral History in the U.S. Army PURPOSE Augment the record by capturing information not often found in official documents. Provide background information on important decisions. Preserve and impart important lessons learned. Document important personal insights and anecdotes. Shed light on personalities and interactions that contributed to decisions and shaped events. As explained in Army Regulation (AR) 870-5, Military History: Responsibilities, Policies, and Procedures, oral history activities "are conducted to obtain historical information that may not otherwise be recorded.” Oral history interviews preserve the perspective of the individual. The work of oral history, therefore, is to interview individuals in order to capture and preserve their spoken perspectives, judgments, and recollections. These interviews supplement the written record, which all too often slights the role of individuals in important decisions and events and generally omits the detailed information that nonparticipants require in order to understand what happened and why. The greatest strength of oral history is its ability to capture and preserve information that may not otherwise be saved, particularly personal perspectives and anecdotes that will not be found in official records. Properly executed and researched oral history products can make significant contributions to the record

Army Heritage and Education Center Oral History in the U.S. Army DESCRIPTION & DIRECTION Center of Military History (CMH) provides guidance and oversight for all Army Oral History activities and programs. Oral History is practiced across the U.S. Army. Each unit or organization executes programs relevant to their mission. Army Oral History programs and products are an integral part of the AHP. Without these materials, reconstructing many events in the Army's history would be difficult. U.S. Army Oral History products and publications = Edited Transcripts. An integral part of the Army Historical Program since World War II, oral history has assumed an even more important role in documenting Army history in the post-Cold War era. Indeed, oral history interviews are at the center of accounts of the Army‘s numerous, diverse, and challenging operations and institutional initiatives since the end of the Cold War. From Panama and Operation JUST CAUSE through Operation IRAQI FREEDOM, and from the post-Cold War drawdown of the Army to transformation and modularity, Army historians have sought to supplement meager documentary records with the insights and spoken words of knowledgeable participants in these historical events. CMH and the The Chief of Military History— (1) Provides oversight, policy, and guidance for oral history. (2) Determines and publishes specific standards for oral history programs and materials. (3) Establishes standards for training programs in oral history techniques. (4) Publishes selected interviews and oral history monographs. (5) Maintains an index of U.S. Army interviews and a collection of transcripts. (6) Ensures that oral history materials are preserved and selected products are distributed commensurate with mission requirements. (7) Directs the collection and disposition of wartime and field operational interviews and the establishment of a uniform cataloging system. Oral history activities conducted by U.S. Army units, agencies, and museums must be done in accordance with published regulations. Organizations conducting oral history interviews will ensure that interviews are transcribed commensurate with mission and classification requirements, maintain original tapes and transcripts and all types of associated media, and provide copies of transcripts to the Center of Military History. The U.S. Army has accumulated a wealth of oral history interviews that have helped preserve the record of its activities in peace and war.

Army Heritage and Education Center Oral History in the U.S. Army TYPES OF ORAL HISTORY Biographical: Focuses on an individual’s life and career. Army Historians usually conduct this type of interview after the individual has retired from government service. Subject: Concentrates on obtaining information about a single event or topic. Exit: Conducted near the end of a person’s tour in a particular assignment and centers on the issues and decisions unique to that job. The U.S. Army recognizes and defines by regulation four types of Oral History. Biographical: Normally covers the career of an important individual or senior Army uniformed or civilian leader. 2. Subject: Concentrates on a single event, such as a battle, or focuses on a specific topic, such as the development of a particular weapons system or the formulation of a specific policy, strategy, or program. 3. Exit: Conducted near the end of a person’s tour of duty, centers on the experiences of a commander, project leader, program director, staff officer, or other key individual in a particular assignment. 4. After-action: A specialized form used to capture lessons learned from training or combat operations preferably conducted immediately and over the same ground over which events transpired while memories are still vivid. It is important to note that "oral history" and "interview" are not synonymous. An interview is the recording of an individual‘s words in response to the questions of the historian. The "oral history" is a collaborative venture that reflects the twin efforts of the interviewer and interviewee to create a unique historical source through reviewing and editing the transcript of the interview. CAAI is an exception!! After-Action: A specialized form of a subject interview. Its objective is to preserve information about military operations in the field. An “interview” is not considered an Oral History.

Army Heritage and Education Center Oral History in the U.S. Army SIGNIFICANT PROGRAMS Combat After-Action Interview – Conducted in the field by Military History Detachments. Operational Lessons Learned – Collects important information from senior staff officers and commanders Combat After-Action Interview: Program is administered by CMH. CAAI are conducted by military history detachments or official historians during wartime or associated military operations, and military exercises as part of their mission to collect and preserve historical documentation on U.S. Army operations. This after-action interview is conducted as soon as possible following an event. A copy of each CAAI should be provided to the appropriate branch historian. Interviews are conducted as soon as possible. while important details are still vivid. Operational Lessons Learned: Program is administered by the CSI. OLE are wide ranging interview focused in both the Subject and Exit category. Senior Officer Oral History Program: Program is administered by MHI. SOOHP are biographical interviews of retired, general officers with a focus on their career achievements, challenges and their unique place in U.S. Army history. Senior Officer Oral History – Comprehensive examination of the lives and careers of retired, senior officers.

Oral History material is used in nearly every AHP publication. Army Heritage and Education Center Oral History in the U.S. Army PRODUCTS & USES Oral History material is used in nearly every AHP publication. Oral History collections and lessons learned volumes are distributed throughout the force.

Army Heritage and Education Center Oral History in the U.S. Army PRODUCTS & USES

Army Heritage and Education Center Oral History in the U.S. Army Accessing the collections Combat Studies Institute, Operational Lessons Learned (OLE) transcripts can be found online http://cgsc.leavenworth.army.mil/carl/contentdm/home.htm

Army Heritage and Education Center Oral History in the U.S. Army Accessing the collections U.S. Army Military History Institute Oral History Transcripts can be found online http://www.ahco.army.mil/site/index.jsp

Army Heritage and Education Center Oral History in the U.S. Army CURRENT CHALLENGES Digitization and multi-media. Classification and access. Sharing across organizations and programs. Army OH products are manuscript heavy. Little use is made – or interest shown – in creating and distributing multi-media products. As demand grows for more flexible products AHP will have to develop program standards for production, classification and distribution of video and audio materials. Army records management is in a desperate state. Classification standards are a moving target. Much of what we produce is classified. We explore leadership, training, equipment and doctrinal issues that could be of use to our enemies. Often, a collection of unclassified information can yield important and useful information. We must use caution and balance demands of the force and the public with our responsibility to safeguard potentially classified information. There are plans to construct an Army Oral History Registry – but there is no funding available. CMH is responsible for collecting and distributing this material.

Army Heritage and Education Center Oral History in the U.S. Army CONCLUSION The U.S. Army has a long tradition of utilizing oral history to build the historical. Oral History programs seek to obtain historical information that may not otherwise be recorded. Oral History products are widely used in the preparation of official histories and internal studies. Oral History activities and programs are an integral part of the AHP.

“It often happens that those who discuss war, taking the weapon for the starting point, assume unhesitatingly that the man called to serve it will always use it as contemplated and ordered by the regulations. But such a being, throwing off his variable nature to become an impassive pawn, an abstract unit in the combinations of battle, is a creature born of the musings of the library and not a real man. Man is flesh and blood; he is body and soul. And, strong as the soul often is, it cannot dominate the body to the point where there will not be a revolt of the flesh and mental perturbation in the face of destruction.” Colonel Ardant du Picq