DOWNSIZING THE ARMY - SOME POLICY IMPLICATIONS AFFECTING THE SURVIVORS

The U.S. army has downsized its forces at the conclusion of every Majo r conflict. The successful completion of the Cold War is no exception. In the past, scant attention was given to the attitudes and perceptio ns of those remaining in the force-the survivors of the downsizing. Th is articles uses a qualitative and a quantitative approach to examine the effects of the army's downsizing on the survivors. Issues addresse d are the overall effect of the downsizing on organizational commitmen t, the impact of the army's communications concerning the downsizing p lan and process, and the importance to the survivors of the army's tre atment and care of the victims of downsizing. The analysis concludes t hat a decrease in organizational commitment appears inevitable, but th at the army can implement policies to mitigate the magnitude of that d ecrease.