David Musick | Department of History

David Musick

Email: DavidMusick@my.unt.edu

Dissertation: "Ephemeral Victory: United States Army Military Government in the Philippines, 1944-1945."

Supervisor: Dr. Richard McCaslin

Focus Areas: War and Society. Modern Military History. Civil Affairs. Military Government. Propaganda and Information Operations. Napoleonic History. American Civil War. World War I. World War II.

I am a Ph.D. candidate (ABD) specializing in Civil Affairs and Military Government, with focus on the U.S. Army in the Second World War. I recently retired after 26 years as a Military Intelligence officer in the United States Army. My military career included deployments to South Korea, Japan, Panama, and Guam, as well as 30 months of combat in Iraq. While my time in the Army included fantastic assignments to Alaska and Hawaii, my favorite was to the History Department of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. While there I taught the History of the Military Art, the History of Unconventional Warfare, and Military Government in a Global Context. History and historical discussions have always been a key part of my professional and personal life. Throughout my time in the Army I have been privileged to bring historical perspective to current events. As a historian in the military I had many opportunities - both voluntary and directed - to guide key leaders on staff rides to battlefields and areas of significant military importance, including Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Normandy, Belfast, and Osan. I am married to Vivien and together we have four children and four grandchildren. I currently work in sensitive procurements for Ball Aerospace, in a role that allows me to put the critical thinking and analytical skills of a historian to work.

Additional information:

Conferences and Presentations:

  • "American Stability Operations in the Philippines, 1944-1946" - Society for Military History Annual Meeting, Columbus, Ohio - May 2019
  • "North Korea: The Four Problems" - US Army Forces Command, Fort Bragg, North Carolina - October 2017
  • "Task Force Smith: The Forgotten Lessons" - 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade Command and Staff, Osan, Republic of Korea - May 2017
  • "The Strategic and Geographical Problems of the Pusan Perimeter" - United Nations Command, Command and Staff, Busan, Republic of Korea - November 2016
  • "Media in the First World War" - U.S. Military Academy Symposium on the First World War, West Point, New York - September 2014
  • "US Army and Civil Military Operations in Afghanistan," The U.S. Army Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute (PKSOI) and United States Institute for Peace (USIP) conference on Civil Military Operations - October 2012
  • "The History of Combined Operations in Iraq," at the twenty-eighth annual Alfred & Johanna Hurley Military History Seminar at the University of North Texas - October 2010

Publications:

  • Chapter author, "Building Peace: Civil Affairs and Military Government in the Second World War" in Paths of Innovation in Warfare From the Twelfth Century to the Present, edited by Nicholas M. Sambaluk, 324 p., Rowman & Littlefield, Washington DC, 2018
  • Contributing author to "The Future of Close Air Support" a white paper supporting a joint discussion between the Chiefs of Staff of the Army and Air Force, 2015.
  • Journal article: "Consequences be Damned: Solving 20th Century Problems with 19th Century Disregard" Published in Small Wars Journal, 15 October 2014. http://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/consequences-be-damned-solving-20th-century-problems-with-19th-century-disregard.
  • Coauthored "A Historical Perspective on Evolutions and Revolutions in Small Arms" for the Department of Defense Small Arms Seminar Series at the United States Military Academy at West Point, September 2012.

Awards:

  • USMA Association of Graduates Faculty Development Research Grant, 2014
  • General Omar N. Bradley Research Fellowship in Military History, 2013
  • Toulouse Academic Achievement Scholarship, 2012