Comments on: Citizen Soldiers http://blog.benjaminfenster.com/2009/12/citizen-soldiers/ A Blog of Musings and Mockery Tue, 24 Aug 2010 18:49:03 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Ben http://blog.benjaminfenster.com/2009/12/citizen-soldiers/comment-page-1/#comment-12531 Ben Sun, 20 Dec 2009 01:01:23 +0000 http://blog.benjaminfenster.com/?p=1366#comment-12531 One of the characteristics of World War II that's been drawing me back to it a lot lately is that it's composed almost entirely of things we'll never see again. The sky won't be filled with bombers crawling past their targets, the sea won't be filled with troop carriers easily taken out by missiles or nuclear weapons, and military success will probably never again be drawn on a map. One of the characteristics of World War II that’s been drawing me back to it a lot lately is that it’s composed almost entirely of things we’ll never see again. The sky won’t be filled with bombers crawling past their targets, the sea won’t be filled with troop carriers easily taken out by missiles or nuclear weapons, and military success will probably never again be drawn on a map.

]]> By: just pixels http://blog.benjaminfenster.com/2009/12/citizen-soldiers/comment-page-1/#comment-12525 just pixels Sat, 19 Dec 2009 15:05:32 +0000 http://blog.benjaminfenster.com/?p=1366#comment-12525 What's especially engaging about the telling of Citizen Soldier is that contemporary U.S. forces are volunteer. Or put another way, they are not draftees or short-timers. They are professional warriors. We will not see again an army of people plucked out of everyday life into battle. (The National Guard comes close, but tends to be support services rather than front-line troops.) The longer term enlistments of today let us train better, use complex technology and techniques, minimize casualties. They also mean soldiers are more likely to be married, have civilian sector skills. And -- I think this is important -- today's military is less like the America it serves. Obviously military forces are mostly male, mostly young. But they are also mostly rural, Southern and Republican. Our nation would be better served by a broader demographic. Military experience -- its risks, rewards, costs -- would be visible to more citizens. And the decision to go to war would have greater resonance throughout the land. What’s especially engaging about the telling of Citizen Soldier is that contemporary U.S. forces are volunteer. Or put another way, they are not draftees or short-timers. They are professional warriors. We will not see again an army of people plucked out of everyday life into battle. (The National Guard comes close, but tends to be support services rather than front-line troops.)

The longer term enlistments of today let us train better, use complex technology and techniques, minimize casualties. They also mean soldiers are more likely to be married, have civilian sector skills.

And — I think this is important — today’s military is less like the America it serves. Obviously military forces are mostly male, mostly young. But they are also mostly rural, Southern and Republican. Our nation would be better served by a broader demographic. Military experience — its risks, rewards, costs — would be visible to more citizens. And the decision to go to war would have greater resonance throughout the land.

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