| − | A less well-known, but more uplifting example of generals fighting the last war is the increased military preparedness that followed the Korean War. The war left the U.S. military determined to never again demobilize to the extent it had at the beginning of the Korean War. To demobilize at the end of a war, leaving America unprepared for the next war, had been a recurring pattern in American history. The unprepared Task Force Smith, used at the beginning of the war, was the emblem of everything the post-Korean War military hoped to avoid.<ref>Fehrenback, T.R., ''This Kind of War: The Classic Korean War History'', "Forward" by Gordan Sullivan.</ref> | + | A less well-known, but more uplifting example of generals fighting the last war is the increase in American military preparedness that followed the Korean War. The war left the U.S. military determined to never again demobilize to the extent it had at the beginning of the Korean War. To demobilize at the end of a war, leaving America unprepared for the next war, had been a recurring pattern in American history. The unprepared Task Force Smith, used at the beginning of the war, was the emblem of everything the post-Korean War military hoped to avoid.<ref>Fehrenback, T.R., ''This Kind of War: The Classic Korean War History'', "Forward" by Gordan Sullivan.</ref> |