“Come As You Are” War: U.S. Readiness for the Korean Conflict
Dr Conrad C Crane, Dr Michael E Lynch, Shane P. Reilly, Jessica J. Sheets
Historical Research Review by US Army War College, Army Heritage and Education Center
"Task Force Smith at the beginning of the Korean War has often been used as a metaphor for military unreadiness. While the story of that first US action of the war provides a timeless cautionary tale for commanders, the story of unreadiness for war in June 1950 went much further than the tactical failures of one infantry battalion. The lack of readiness was caused by a very disruptive interwar period that saw drastic and often chaotic changes to Doctrine, Organization, Training, Materiel, Leadership, Personnel, Facilities and Policy (DOTMLPF-P)."