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Reviewed by:
  • Advising Indigenous Forces: American Advisors in Korea, Vietnam, and El Salvador
  • Donald Stoker
Advising Indigenous Forces: American Advisors in Korea, Vietnam, and El Salvador. By Robert B. Ramsey, III . Fort Leavenworth, Kans.: Combat Studies Institute Press, 2006. ISBN 0-16-076722-9. Notes. Appendixes. Bibliography. Pp. ix, 176. $15.00.

Compared to most sub-genres of military history, the historiography of military advising is fairly scant. In fact, it is a field lacking an accepted standard work. There are many articles, and a number of books addressing various advisory missions, but there is little that attempts any comparative analysis or offers much in the way of synthesis. Works on non-American military advisory efforts are even thinner. All of this is in spite of the fact that with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, military advising, as well as its study, has emerged as a growth industry. Robert Ramsey's book does not provide the needed sweeping survey of the art of military advising, but he does give us some solid and succinct case studies of three of the more important American military advisory efforts, useful synthesis, and some lessons learned.

As the title foretells, Advising Indigenous Forces addresses the American advisory efforts in South Korea, South Vietnam, and El Salvador. The trio juxtapose nicely: South Korea – advising in the midst of a conventional war; South Vietnam – advising to build an army to do counterinsurgency and conventional warfare; El Salvador – a small U.S. team trying to build a force capable of counterinsurgency while also reforming it. The Korea case provides the most interesting study, but this is undoubtedly because of the utter duress under which the American advisors and their South Korean counterparts functioned, particularly in 1950 and 1951. The studies of Vietnam and El Salvador are also solid overviews, though the organization of the Vietnam case study does not provide the linear continuity I would wish. But in Ramsey's defense, this was an advisory effort that stretched over three decades while following many paths, and Ramsey is more interested in deriving lessons. The book also includes some interesting appendixes, including Lawrence of Arabia's wonderful 'Twenty-Seven Articles,' as well as some others concerning past guidance given to military advisors.

Though somewhat repetitive in spots, and sometimes not as briskly written as one would like, it is a useful book. Ramsey is particularly strong in relaying the importance of cultural awareness, cultural sensitivity, and familiarity with various characteristics and aspects of the nation being advised. The book does not make use of some of the most recent scholarship on advising, but it is not meant as a synthesis of everything available. Its purpose is providing an overview of how American personnel were prepared for some of the most important U.S. advisory efforts, and what advice and lessons they could offer for military personnel who now find themselves cast in this role. This it does well.

Donald Stoker
US Naval War College, Monterey Program
Monterey, California
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