COUNTERING MILITARY RECRUITMENT
Articles: Military Service: General
All Quiet on the Home Front, and Some Soldiers Are Asking Why
THOM SHANKER, New York Times
July 24, 2005
WASHINGTON,
July 23 - The Bush administration's rallying call that America is a
nation at war is increasingly ringing hollow to men and women in
uniform, who argue in frustration that America is not a nation at war,
but a nation with only its military at war.
From bases in Iraq and across the United States to the Pentagon and the
military's war colleges, officers and enlisted personnel quietly raise
a question for political leaders: if America is truly on a war footing,
why is so little sacrifice asked of the nation at large?
There is no serious talk of a draft to share the burden of fighting
across the broad citizenry, and neither Republicans nor Democrats are
pressing for a tax increase to force Americans to cover the $5 billion
a month in costs from Iraq, Afghanistan and new counterterrorism
missions.
There are not even concerted efforts like the savings-bond drives or
gasoline rationing that helped to unite the country behind its fighting
forces in wars past.
"Nobody in America is asked to sacrifice, except us," said one officer
just back from a yearlong tour in Iraq, voicing a frustration now
drawing the attention of academic specialists in military sociology.
Members of the military who discussed their sense of frustration did so
only when promised anonymity, as comments viewed as critical of the
civilian leadership could end their careers. The sentiments were
expressed in more than two dozen interviews and casual conversations
with enlisted personnel, noncommissioned officers, midlevel officers,
and general or flag officers in Iraq and in the United States.
Charles Moskos, a professor emeritus at Northwestern University
specializing in military sociology, said: "My terminology for it is
'patriotism lite,' and that's what we're experiencing now in both
political parties. The political leaders are afraid to ask the public
for any real sacrifice, which doesn't speak too highly of the
citizenry."
Senior administration officials say they are aware of the tension and
have opened discussions on whether to mobilize brigades of Americans
beyond those already signed up for active duty or in the Reserves and
National Guard. At the Pentagon and the State Department, officials
have held preliminary talks on creating a Civilian Reserve, a sort of
Peace Corps for professionals.
In an interview, Douglas J. Feith, the under secretary of defense for
policy, said that discussions had begun on a program to seek
commitments from bankers, lawyers, doctors, engineers, electricians,
plumbers and solid-waste disposal experts to deploy to conflict zones
for months at a time on reconstruction assignments, to relieve pressure
on the military.
When President Bush last addressed the issue of nationwide support for
the war effort in a formal speech, he asked Americans to use the Fourth
of July as a time to "find a way to thank the men and women defending
our freedom by flying the flag, sending a letter to our troops in the
field or helping the military family down the street."
In the speech, at Fort Bragg, N.C., on June 28, Mr. Bush mentioned a
Defense Department Web site, Americasupportsyou.mil, where people can
learn about private-sector efforts to bolster the morale of the troops.
He also urged those considering a career in the military to enlist
because "there is no higher calling than service in our armed forces."
While officers and enlisted personnel say they enjoy symbolic signs of
support, and the high ratings the military now enjoys in public opinion
polls, "that's just not enough," said a one-star officer who served in
Iraq. "There has to be more," he added, saying that the absence of a
call for broader national sacrifice in a time of war has become a near
constant topic of discussion among officers and enlisted personnel.
"For most Americans," said an officer with a year's experience in Iraq,
"their role in the war on terror is limited to the slight inconvenience
of arriving at the airport a few hours early."
David C. Hendrickson, a scholar on foreign policy and the presidency at
Colorado College, said, "Bush understands that the support of the
public for war - especially the war in Iraq - is conditioned on
demanding little of the public."
Mr. Hendrickson said that after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, just as
after the recent London bombings, political leaders urged the
population to continue life as normal, so as not to give terrorists a
moral victory by giving in to the fear of violence.
But he said the stress of the commitment to the continuing mission in
Iraq was viewed by the public in a different light than a terrorist
attack on home soil.
"The public wants very much to support the troops" in Iraq, he said.
"But it doesn't really believe in the mission. Most consider it a war
of choice, and a majority - although a thin one - thinks it was the
wrong choice."
Maj. Gen. Robert H. Scales Jr., who served as commandant of the Army
War College and is now retired, said: "Despite the enormous impact of
Sept. 11, it hasn't really translated into a national movement towards
fighting the war on terrorism. It's almost as if the politicians want
to be able to declare war and, at the same time, maintain a sense of
normalcy."
General Scales said he had heard a heavy stream of concerns from
current officers that "the military is increasingly isolated from the
rest of the country."
"People associate being an officer with the priesthood," he added. "You
know, there is an enormous amount of respect, but nobody wants to sign
up for celibacy."
Private organizations like the Navy League of the United States that
support the individual armed services have identified the tension and
are using this theme to urge greater contributions from members now in
the civilian world.
"We have recognized that and we have tried to sound the alarm," said
Rear Adm. Stephen R. Pietropaoli, retired, the executive director of
the Navy League.
"As an organization that is committed to supporting them by ensuring
they have the weapons and tools and systems to fight and win, and also
at the grass-roots level by providing assistance to families," Admiral
Pietropaoli said, "we are aware that the burden has fallen almost
solely on the shoulders of the uniformed military and security services
and their families. We have used that in our calls to action by our
members. We have said: 'We are at war. What have you done lately?' "
Morten G. Ender, who teaches sociology at West Point, has been
interviewing soldiers, their spouses and cadets since the Iraq war
started in 2003. Because the all-volunteer military is a self-selecting
body and by definition is not drawn from a cross-section of America, he
said, those with direct involvement constitute a far smaller percentage
of the country than in past wars.
Mr. Ender said that the "rhetoric from the top" of the civilian
leadership of the United States "doesn't move people towards actions."
Most Americans support the military, he said, and "feel like there is somebody out there taking care of the job."
"They say, 'I'm going to support those people, I believe in those
people and God bless those people,' " he said. "By doing that, they can
wash their hands of it."
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