Military Service In America...For Whom And By Whom?

Less than .5% of Americans currently serve in our military, a consequence of our all voluntary military where military service became styled as a choice versus a responsibility born out of obligation. In a March 19, 2018 article “Why So Few Young People Want To Be Part Of Our Military” by Katherine Harris, she noted that in 2018 the U.S. will launch a two-year effort to find ways to increase military and civic service among its citizenry, especially its youth. The two-year initiative will be led by the National Commission on Military, National and Public Service. The goal is to “ignite a national conversation around service and develop recommendations that will encourage and inspire Americans, particularly young people, to serve.” So then...why are so few millennials, the prime age group for new military recruits, unwilling to join the military? According to the Harvard Institute of Politics, of nearly half of millennials polled in a 2015 survey, 60% of people between ages 18 and 29 support the commitment of American troops to fight ISIS. Interestingly however, 62% of those same people would NOT join the fight themselves. In other words, most of them felt that serving is someone else’s responsibility. The public perception of military service is important...especially as portrayed in our media. Do we think that media bias is a topic now more widely known about since the election of President Trump? Well, consider this...during the draft and the Vietnam war, serving in the military was not a career option in the minds of young men...right? At least in the eyes of mainstream media and Walter Cronkite, certainly it was not. However, despite the media’s portrayal back then, fully 70% of those who served in Vietnam were volunteers...a stark contrast to the generally accepted opposite notion amongst most Americans then and now. So, why even serve at all? Here is what I personally learned from my military service, by way of example: I learned that people from all walks of life have much more in common than that which supposedly separates us apart; I learned that those same people can come together and become a formidable team capable of facing death and destruction while prevailing in the toughest situations; I learned the value of self discipline...doing what I was supposed to do, when I was supposed to do it regardless of how I felt; I learned how to take an order; I learned how to lead and how to follow; I learned to shut my mouth and do my duty; I learned that sometimes my personal opinion simply does not matter; I learned that freedom is hard earned and never free; I learned that a life of significance is a life of service; I learned that most Americans would be far better off taking two years of their lives giving back to this great country...for the privilege of living in this land of opportunity unrivaled in history. People do not typically appreciate something that is simply given to them. We all appreciate better that which we earnestly strive and sacrifice for...what we legitimately earn. There is no U-Haul behind a hearse. At the end of of our days, only two things will have mattered, IMHO...who did we love and who did we help along life’s path. When we stand in the gap for our country and each other...that is extremely significant, to be sure. President Reagan once said, “Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in this world. Marines don’t have that problem.” Frankly...neither do those who’ve served in our Army, Navy, Air Force or Coast Guard, either. It is an honor and a privilege to serve our country in uniform. God bless them, one and all, who do and have done so!