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From: 2nd Gen Career Enlisted
Date: 24 Jul 2000
Time: 07:37:04
Two observations, one from my family and the other from history.
1. When the All-Vol military was announced with great fanfare before the Paris Accord was even signed, my mother (with a multi-generational memory) told me that the prospects of the military people becoming isolated from the civilian community would be high. She was also speaking from the perspective of an Anthropology Graduate.
2. The “Integrated Military/Civilian Society” is actually a departure from previous history in this country. In fact, compared to the 160 years from the time of the Constitution to the start of the Cold War, it is an aberration. As in “nice girls don’t date soldiers”. When my father enlisted in the Army Air Corps in mid-1941, some eyebrows went up in the family but things were cooled off somewhat when my mother reminded them that she was taking Observer Training. Some people knew for sure that we were going to end up in a war and she was one of them.
However, the existance of a “caste system” was pretty obvious and Pearl and From Here to Eternity provide a good period anecdotal report of that fact. It was also extremely hard to get people to ”stay in”, rank was slow, and it was not uncommon for troops and seamen to retire as Privates and Corporals and Seamen but with a history of having held higher ranks. One huge difference was that if you were loyal and willing to work at it, you got to stay in. That last part has changed radically. In short, the Service protected its own. (Corps, if you were a Marine) Now, the really Big Question: Was 1945 to 1995 an aberration or a permanent societal shift? The answer to that question is crucial because it will affect the proper course of action.
A. If it is an aberration, then we should accept the conclusion that the military services would be somewhat isolated from the rest of society because their society is different, as it has to be. However, if that is the case, then things that tell the troops that their Command Structure could “care less” about their welfare will have to go. The first casualty would have to be enlisted “Up or Out” policies that were started in 1973. The second would be the Weight Control Programs that have absolutely nothing to do with performance and, in fact, degrade performance in some career fields. Try hauling some 1200 pair cable and you find out real fast that “slim is not always in” and then put that cut cable into a water filled ditch and real sorting of people happens. But, if it is the case, then the public would never accept a draft. In 1941, they did because it was pretty obvious that things were going south in a big way.
B. What if it is a permanent shift to a larger military force that is also integrated with the surrounding civilian populace? That suggests that the “civilians” need to stay “connected” to the military and one sure way to do that is with Selective Service that sometimes reaches out and makes that “Greetings from Your Neighbors” also known as the Draft Board. That would also force those civilians to start reading maps and history books more carefully since the possibility of sending someone they know to Bosnia, Botswana, or downtown Boston becomes a fresh concern. The internal “Treatment of the Troops” concerns remain the same. A little sanity, please.