Courage, Careers, and Comrades: Theodore Roosevelt and the United States Army Officer Corps

Theodore Roosevelt made reform of the U. S. Army Officer Corps a priority during his presidency. He felt compelled to act because of the problems that the army experienced during the war with Spain. As a volunteer soldier, Roosevelt had witnessed the shortcomings of many of the top-ranking officers in meeting the physical and organizational demands of the fighting, but he also acted because he wanted high-minded, intelligent, and physically fit leaders who could inspire his fellow citizens to a greater sense of duty in post-frontier America. Roosevelt's efforts to promote promising army officers to top commands and mandate physical fitness standards would prove disruptive, as he elevated officers out of the normal line of promotion. These practices would, in turn, generate protests in Congress and from within the military. The resulting controversies would cause Roosevelt to fall short of his goals for improving army leadership, roil civil-military relations, and demonstrate his limits as a political leader.