The bases of the Army's socia structure are held to be (1) the modern American democratic tradition; (2) the medieval feudal tradition; and (3) the formal, written rules, regulations, and directives. An examination of situations where these three come into conflict with one another shows that the feudal tradition is still the strongest of the three. But the other two modify the effects of the feudal tradition in various ways, and the long-run trend seems to be in favor of their ultimate ascendancy.