Military History

[Schwarzgerat]

So I'm just curious. It seems like the military historian job market in academia is colder than a witch's teat (though I suppose that could be said about the history profession as a whole ). What do these people normally do when they end up outside academia?

One place I've noticed that employs at least a few historians is the RAND Corporation though all of those people are older and presumably joined the organization a while ago. Another place is DoD though I have no idea how common those jobs are. What is the job market for military historians like outside academia since it seems they get little joy inside the academy?

[lureynol]

Pretty poor.

I know a few military historians who work as official historians for regiments or divisions. Outside academe, the military in one way or another are probably the largest employer, not sure about current hiring numbers however.

Edited February 27, 2012 by lureynol

[Kelkel]

I was told a while ago that every base had at least one historian employed, but it was second hand information that I can't verify. I volunteered briefly on an air force base in the museum. They were working on a oral history project in conjunction with another local museum. I would say another employer of military historians would be museums, whether on base or not. But, since most museums are normally dedicated to one or two specific wars, I think there wouldn't be mass opportunity there either.

[TMP]

I sit next to someone with a PhD in military history from one of the top programs in the field. He considers himself VERY lucky to even have a job in a research institution where his military history background is of great value. He's pretty sure that if it wasn't for this, he wouldn't have been able to find a job (and this was probably in 2000).

[New England Nat]

The Air Force Historical Office employs a lot of historians writing largely classified histories. The other services much less so.

This is the reason why I do not call myself a military historian except after listing two or three other subfields first.

[oseirus]

As far as bases hiring historians, that is only partially true. As the military starts to cut back that has been one of the places they've hit. Some bases still have a paid historian on staff but a few have gone the volunteer route or an active duty member who does it as an additional duty

[Sigaba]

Based upon my own research, If one wants to work for .GOV or .MIL or at a think-tank, one needs to approach history more as a social science than as a humanity--that is one will need to be very comfortable with a "lessons learned"/policy implication approach. One will benefit from having experience in (not just knowledge of) quantitavie methods, project management, and a background/lifestyle that will survive a background check for a security clearance.

Based upon my experience, academic military historians will face challenges when it comes to interfacing with professional warriors, especially those who fall into the category of BTDT. They will question your lack of "real world" experience, the efficacy of academic history, and the sensibilities they attribute to the Ivory Tower, your political views, your stance on cultural issues, and your personal integrity. You will benefit greatly from having very thick skin, the willingness to hold your ground, good situational awareness, the ability to laugh at yourself, an ample supply of STFU, and an understanding that you may be held personally accountable for what you say and what you write.

HTH.

[oseirus]

Based upon my own research, If one wants to work for .GOV or .MIL or at a think-tank, one needs to approach history more as a social science than as a humanity--that is one will need to be very comfortable with a "lessons learned"/policy implication approach. One will benefit from having experience in (not just knowledge of) quantitavie methods, project management, and a background/lifestyle that will survive a background check for a security clearance.

Based upon my experience, academic military historians will face challenges when it comes to interfacing with professional warriors, especially those who fall into the category of BTDT. They will question your lack of "real world" experience, the efficacy of academic history, and the sensibilities they attribute to the Ivory Tower, your political views, your stance on cultural issues, and your personal integrity. You will benefit greatly from having very thick skin, the willingness to hold your ground, good situational awareness, the ability to laugh at yourself, an ample supply of STFU, and an understanding that you may be held personally accountable for what you say and what you write.

HTH.

you might want to translate some of those acronyms and buzzwords for future generations who might not be familiar w/the military background Sig

[New England Nat]

I have the exact opposite experiance with professional soldiers. I treat them with respect and demonstrate as best as I can that I want to treat their profession fairly and they respond with integrity. They are intrigued that an academic historian who doesn't have military experiance is trying to understand what they have to contribute to larger society. Perhaps it helps that I am not writing about battles or logistics or even really in the "war and society" school.

But yes it does help to lean to deal with the buzz words and acronyms.

[Sigaba]

I have the exact opposite experiance with professional soldiers. I treat them with respect and demonstrate as best as I can that I want to treat their profession fairly and they respond with integrity. They are intrigued that an academic historian who doesn't have military experiance is trying to understand what they have to contribute to larger society. Perhaps it helps that I am not writing about battles or logistics or even really in the "war and society" school.

But yes it does help to lean to deal with the buzz words and acronyms.

You may be misinterpeting my post and/or we're talking to different groups of warriors and/or the conversations are taking place in different venues. My experiences with professional soldiers have been overall very favorable, and I've developed a few friendships.

I treat them with respect. However, because I'll not budge on some of my views on historical and social issues (e.g. race, class, gender, and religion) the conversations get interesting some times.

If I talk about operations or tactics, it will only be a part of a broader point about America's grand strategy during GWOT.

[oseirus]

You may be misinterpeting my post and/or we're talking to different groups of warriors and/or the conversations are taking place in different venues. My experiences with professional soldiers have been overall very favorable, and I've developed a few friendships.

I treat them with respect. However, because I'll not budge on some of my views on historical and social issues (e.g. race, class, gender, and religion) the conversations get interesting some times.

If I talk about operations or tactics, it will only be a part of a broader point about America's grand strategy during GWOT.

My NCOs always use to tell me that "as long as you throw in with all due respect" and a "sir/ma'am" you'll be fine

[oseirus]

My NCOs always use to tell me that "as long as you throw in with all due respect" and a "sir/ma'am" you'll be fine

*NCOs = Non-commissioned officers/the higher echelon of the enlisted force structure of the armed forces

[Sigaba]

My NCOs always use to tell me that "as long as you throw in with all due respect" and a "sir/ma'am" you'll be fine

Edited March 11, 2012 by Sigaba

[oseirus]

Yes those are ALL the faces I made whenever an NCO told me something ... and it wasn't necessarily in that order but those were the stages I went through