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HeinOnline’s newest database, Military & Government, delves into the history, administration, and evolution of the most powerful military in the world, one that is controlled, not by military leaders, but rather by civilians. The United States Military is comprised of six branches: the Army, which is the oldest of the six branches, the Marine Corps, the Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, and Space Force, the newest of the service branches. Although the U.S. Constitution names the President as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and gives Congress the power to declare war, the National Security Act of 1947 set the stage for the current organization of the military. To help researchers understand the complexities of the administration of the Armed Forces and get a glimpse into the rich history of the American military, HeinOnline has created its Military & Government database, a collection of government documents, books, periodicals, and scholarly articles that examines the past, present, and future of this strong fighting power.
With this collection, researchers have access to a wide variety of resources. In addition to books discussing the individual branches of the military, there are titles covering such subjects as aviation regulation, cyberwarfare, foreign policy, space and national security, terrorism and insurgency, and much more. For primary laws and regulations, researchers can look at relevant sections of the Code of Federal Regulations (Title 6 – Homeland Security, Title 32 – National Defense, and Title 38 – Pensions, Bonuses, & Veterans’ Benefits) as well as miscellaneous sections of the U.S. Code. Committee Prints, hearings, and legislative histories make up the bulk of the congressional documents. Committee Prints range from the Regimental History of the United States Regular Army: Chronological Outline 1866-1918 prepared by the Adjutant General’s Office in 1918 to the text of H.R. 7608, State, Foreign Operations, Agriculture, Rural Development, Interior, Environment, Military Construction, and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, 2021. Researchers can find compiled legislative histories for key statutes affecting the military, such as the Serviceman’s Readjustment Act of 1944 – the G.I. Bill, the Goldwater-Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986, and the Intelligence Identities Protection Act of 1982. There are numerous reports prepared by the Congressional Research Service and the U.S. Government Accountability Office addressing contemporary issues, such as women in the military, diversity in the military, and COVID-19. Researchers also have HeinOnline’s Law Journal library at their fingerprints, with such titles as Air Force Law Review, Harvard National Security Journal, and Journal of Law and Cyber Warfare, as well as links to scholarly articles from journals found on HeinOnline but which don’t have a military focus. Additional resources include librarian-curated libguides, official websites for each branch of the Armed Forces, and links to the websites of national museums and the American Battle Monuments Commission.
As with other HeinOnline databases, there is a helpful Libguide with search tips and an overview of the documents and contents found in the database. Don’t forget that you can access HeinOnline remotely. Please see our blog post, Remote Access to HeinOnline, for more information. Also, if you need some assistance locating a resource or article on HeinOnline, you can contact our librarians through the Law Library’s Virtual Reference Desk.