The Presidency and the Military

Article 2 of the United States Constitution lays out the powers of the president of the United Stares with Clause 1 being specific about military administration and clemency…The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.

What started out in the early days of the republic as an institution that was only to be funded every two years, as Thomas Jefferson wanted, the United States military, since World War II has become what President Dwight D. Eisenhower warned the American people about in 1961; the Military Industrial Complex. But with two hot wars in Korea and Vietnam during the Cold War and now, since 2001 with the Global War on Terrorism it is easy to see what Ike was telling us.

But not to deter from the honor it is to serve your country, the United States military is a group filled with comradery and tradition. It is an organization where someone will commit selfless acts of heroism like throwing yourself on a grenade to save your buddies and be recognized for it in some cases by receiving the highest honor bestowed on a service member, the Congressional Medal of Honor.

But there are sad times where presidents will use the military as political props to sway the American people on what might be an unpopular political agenda such as with Vietnam. But most of the time, and sadly we have turned our backs on returning vets, our government and our presidents want to honor our veterans with things that they have earned by laying their lives on the line. Some of these things are the GI Bill and most recently the PACT Act.

This collection celebrates, for better or for worst the relationship between the presidency and the military. Follow FDR, Truman, Eisenhower, and Reagan as they get us though World War II. Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, and Reagan will guide us through the Cold War. Then George HW Bush, Clinton, George W. Bush, Obama, Trump, and Biden will get us through the Post Cold War Era and the War on Terror.

See also:

• Complete Broadcast 1941 (Pearl Harbor)
• Complete Broadcast 1944 (D Day Invasion of Normandy CBS)
• Complete Broadcast 1944 (D Day Invasion of Normandy NBC)
• Victory in Europe Day Radio Recordings
• V-J Day Collection (Victory Over Japan)
• Korean AFRS Broadcasts
• AFVN Recordings (Armed Forces Vietnam)
• Kent State Shootings
• Operation Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom
• Douglas MacArthur
• Colin Powell
• The Presidency and the Cold War
• The Presidency and Foreign Policy Post Cold War