Professionally converted for accurate flowing-text e-book format reproduction, this exceptional book documents the Army Nurse Corps history from the end of the Vietnam War to the year 2000. The author addresses a remarkable episode in the organization's evolution, a period characterized by a series of progressive steps empowering our officers to assume key command and leadership positions in the Army Medical Department. Once this momentum was established, it challenged the limitations of the proverbial "glass ceiling" so prevalent during this period. This book also explores the vital roles of the Army Nurse Corps in supporting and sustaining high-level military operations that began with Operation Desert Storm. Professionalism, clinical competency, adaptability, and flexibility remain the hallmark of the Army Nurse Corps, clearly illustrated in this long-awaited volume. Author Sarnecky offers us a wealth of scholarly research narrated in her unique, straightforward style imparting a rich institutional history of which all professional nurses should be exceptionally proud. It is imperative that we review the "lessons learned" from this period in our nursing history and utilize the experiences, knowledge, and leadership of these extremely talented and dedicated professional nurses. The foundation that previous Army nursing leaders had built allowed this new period to be fruitful and exciting. I am confident that because of these nursing leaders, professional nursing will continue to flourish in America and around the world.

A Contemporary History of the U.S. Army Nurse Corps * PART ONE - The Decade After the Vietnam War * Chapter One - Evolution and Reorganization * Chapter Two - Gender and Minority Issues * Chapter Three - Educational Concerns and Career Advancement * Chapter Four - Readiness Challenges * Chapter Five - Administrative Questions * Chapter Six - Innovative Roles * Chapter Seven - Humanitarian Relief and Assistance Missions in the 1970s * PART TWO - A Decade of Change * Chapter Eight - New Leadership and Expanding Horizons * Chapter Nine - Refining Quality of Care Strategies * Chapter Ten - The Shortage Intensifies * Chapter Eleven - Preparing for Action * Chapter Twelve - Refugee and Humanitarian Operations during the 1980s * Chapter Thirteen - Additional Deployments in the 1980s * PART THREE - The Concluding Decade of a Century of Service * Chapter Fourteen - The Post-Cold War Period * Chapter Fifteen - Revamping the Medical Department and Army Nursing * Chapter Sixteen - New Frontiers for Army Nurse Corps Officers * Chapter Seventeen - The Army and the Army Medical Department in Operation Desert Shield/Operation Desert Storm * Chapter Eighteen - Army Nurse Corps Leadership in Operation Desert Shield/Operation Desert Storm * Chapter Nineteen - Army Nurse Corps Activities in Combat Hospitals in Operation Desert Shield/Operation Desert Storm * Chapter Twenty - Army Nurse Corps Activities in Europe and the Continental United States in Operation Desert Shield/Operation Desert Storm and in the Aftermath * Chapter Twenty-one - Operation Restore Hope in Somalia * Chapter Twenty-two - Operations in the Former Republic of Yugoslavia * Chapter Twenty-three - Operation Uphold Democracy in Haiti * Chapter Twenty-four - The Final Word: Epilogue

The intent of this volume is to outline the historical framework of [the] seemingly perpetual issues related to nursing, particularly in the Army of the United States of America. It describes how those who have gone before have faced and occasionally resolved familiar challenges.