The Army emerged from the frontier era at the be-
ginning of the 20th century as an international power
beginning with World War I. In the mid-1940’s, as the
Army expanded to meet the U.S. entrance into World
War II, it significantly expanded its territorial needs
for training and testing lands in the continental U.S.
Army maneuvers were conducted on vast expanses
of land in the desert Southwest (Mojave Desert) by
General Patton and his armored forces, and in the
Southeast during the so-called Louisiana Maneuvers
(Bischoff 2008). During later conflicts abroad (Korea
and Vietnam), the Army became focused on the tech-
nological advances in warfare, becoming one arm of
what President Dwight Eisenhower coined the “mil-
itary-industrial complex.” Much of its awareness of
environmental stewardship waxed and waned, with
the exception of small civilian conservation staffs on
military installations dedicated to forest management
and other related activities. However, the emergence
of the national environmental movement in the late
1960’s and early 1970’s caused the Army to adapt to
increasing environmental laws and regulations. This
slowly led to a reawakening of its responsibilities to-
wards environmentally sustainable land management
practices (Wilcox 2007).
During the 1990’s the Army took several steps to
integrate environmental awareness training and edu-
cation into its leadership courses for commissioned
and non-commissioned officers. For example, short
courses in environmental training were developed
and imbedded into the curriculums at the various
Army Officer Basic Courses (OBC) and Advanced Of-
ficer Courses (AOC) which every junior officer was
required to attend as part of their professional devel-
opment. During this same period, the Army began to
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