Editing William Westmoreland (section)

== Chief of Staff of the United States Army ==
[[File:General William Westmoreland is sworn-in as 25th Chief of Staff of the United States Army by Army Vice Chief of Staff General Ralph E. Haines Jr.jpg|thumb|Westmoreland being sworn in as [[Chief of Staff of the United States Army|Chief of Staff of the Army]] by [[Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army|Vice Chief of Staff of the Army]] General [[Ralph E. Haines Jr.]] at the [[The Pentagon|Pentagon]] on 3 July 1968]]
In June 1968, Westmoreland was appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson to succeed General [[Harold Keith Johnson|Harold K. Johnson]] as [[Chief of Staff of the United States Army]]. Shortly after the Tet Offensive, it was announced that General [[Creighton Abrams]] would succeed Westmoreland as commander of the MACV.

Westmoreland served as Chief of Staff from 1968 to 1972. In 1970, in response to the My Lai Massacre by US Army forces and the subsequent cover-up by the Army chain of command, he commissioned an investigation that compiled a comprehensive and seminal study of leadership within the Army during the Vietnam War demonstrating a severe erosion of adherence to the army's officer code of "Duty, Honor, Country". The report, entitled ''Study on Military Professionalism'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf&AD=ADA063748|access-date=19 Oct 2015|publisher=[[US Army War College]]|title=Study on Military Professionalism|date=30 June 1970|archive-date=29 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130929101415/http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf&AD=ADA063748|url-status=dead}}</ref> had a profound influence on Army policies, beginning with Westmoreland's decision to end the policy that officers serving in Vietnam would be rotated into a different post after only six months. However, to lessen the impact of this damaging report, Westmoreland ordered that the document be kept on "close hold" across the entire Army for a period of two years and not disseminated to War College attendees. The report became known to the public only after Westmoreland retired in 1972.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Generals: American Military Command from World War II to Today|author=Ricks, Thomas E|isbn=978-1594204043|publisher=The Penguin Press|date=30 Oct 2012|chapter=20}}</ref>

On September 21, 1970, Westmoreland became a rated Army Aviator, having successfully completed Army Aviation training at [[Ft. Campbell]], then-[[Ft. Rucker]], and [[Washington, DC]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://armyaviationmagazine.com/images/archive/backissues/1970/70_10.pdf|title=Westmoreland Mutes Reveille Bugler
|work=[[Army Aviation Magazine]]|date=October 1970|access-date=May 18, 2024}}</ref>

Westmoreland tried to make Army life more attractive during the transition to the all-volunteer force by eliminating reveille formations at dawn, allowing beer to be served in mess halls during evening meals, omitting bed check, easing pass policies, and other directives.<ref>{{cite web|last=Schmidt|first=Dana Adams|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/12/09/archives/westmoreland-mutes-reveille-bugler-bugler-is-muted-by-army-order.html|title=Westmoreland Mutes Reveille Bugler
|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=December 9, 1970|access-date=November 5, 2021}}</ref>

Westmoreland's tenure as Chief of Staff ended on 30 June 1972. He was offered the position of [[Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe|Supreme Allied Commander in Europe]], but opted to retire on 30 June 1972. He was awarded the [[Distinguished Service Medal (U.S. Army)|Army Distinguished Service Medal]] by President [[Richard Nixon]].<ref name="papers"/>