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I had the rare privilege to grow up in a suburb of stately lawns,
with large, brick houses built by real world Gatsby's. It was a
town of good, solid Episcopalians; a place where parents groomed
their children at Country Day for an eventual spot at Choate or
Andover; a place of clay courts and manicured greens.
Needless to say, I was bored to death as a kid. Like Phil Caputo,
the author of A Rumor of War, I longed for adventure, world travel
and to "see the elephant." When I finally had my wish fulfilled
in the winter of 1991, I was often bombarded with several questions
by my fellow officers that all asked, in essence: "Why aren't you
an investment banker? Why are you here? Are you some type of crusader?"
At first, the comments meant nothing to me, but then I started to
brood on them. I reflected on my childhood in Lake Forest, Illinois.
In actuality, I never met anyone my age or slightly older who wished
to serve in the armed forces. The Memorial Day parades I witnessed
seemed more like a gathering of the last surviving Union Army
vets. No one under the age of 60 marched. Lake Forest had a gigantic
generation gap of men who had not served; and sadly, who had no
desire to serve.
Except for a smattering of wealthy Southerners and other adventurers,
the upper class of this country has long been AWOL from the military.
Why are they AWOL? Unlike past conflicts, why are they not participating
in this war?
There are those that would argue that the upper class has always
found a loophole to avoid service. During the Civil War, wealthy
robber barons could buy their way out of the draft for a mere 300
greenbacks. They would usually send one of their immigrant servants
in their place. Teddy Roosevelt's father did just that. This lone
act produced a son with a chip on his shoulder (combine the burdensome
chip with the mad lust of William Randolph Hearst and the result
was one splendid little war for TR in Cuba.
Even so, during the Spanish-American War, Roosevelt's friends from
New York City served with him in combat. The so-called Park Avenue
Gang fought with courage on San Juan Hill. William Tiffany, the
heir to the Tiffany fortune, died storming the fortifications with
Teddy and western cowboys at his side.
Looking farther back in time, our Founding Fathers were all upper-class
gentlemen who had the intestinal fortitude to stand-up to the greatest
power on earth, Great Britain. I have a hard time picturing today's
Phi Beta Kappa portfolio managers showing such sheer bravado.
The upper class was widely represented during World
War II. Partly, because there was a draft that swept up almost
every able-bodied man; partly because members of the American upper
class felt it was their duty to serve their country in such a solemn
hour for the defense of freedom. Many members of the upper class
were drawn to William Donovan's OSS, giving it the kitschy nickname
of "Oh-So-Social."
During the Vietnam
War, the upper class still fought, although the percentage of
the military from its ranks was significantly dwindled from World
War II. Many did stay in school to avoid service. But, it is a myth
to believe that all of the draftees were poor in Vietnam. Patriotic
kids from Harvard still felt it was their duty to serve.
In the 1980s, I graduated from Southern Methodist University in
Dallas, Texas. SMU has always been a very conservative school. In
fact, First Lady Laura Bush is an SMU grad. When I was there, the
student population hovered around 10,000. You would think that at
a conservative university with a student body of 10,000, you might
have a sizable ROTC detachment. Wrong.
The SMU Army ROTC Detachment comprised nine cadets and one very
frustrated and bored captain. He seemed to spend most of his time
hitting on gorgeous coeds in sorority shirts. The kids at SMU had
obviously been told by their parents to avoid the military like
the bubonic plague. SMU students were there to become bankers, oil
traders, CPAs, lawyers; jobs where you can earn way over six figures.
The military with its lousy pay and blue-collar reputation wasn't
even an option for the little J.R. Ewings of that era. The response
from most SMU people when I told them I wanted to be an Army officer
was "Are you out of your mind?"
Has anything really changed twenty years hence? It doesn't look
that way. I wonder if Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has met
anyone in a generation from his hometown of Kenilworth, Illinois,
who wishes to serve in the military. In this wealthy enclave of
Chicago, people are elbowing each other for chairs on Fortune 500
boards, not for a place in the recruiter's line.
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What are the results of an AWOL Upper Class? We have a huge percentage
of enlisted personnel from poor, uneducated backgrounds. Uneducated
people - particularly those in ill-trained reserve units - are prone
to commit atrocities. Many of the SS swine were illiterate people
who found a haven in that evil organization after being unemployed.
In fact, the architect of the Malmedy Massacre, General Sepp Dietrich,
was an illiterate former butcher from Munich. Dietrich would often
have his subordinates read to him. The Abu Ghraib atrocities were
also committed by uneducated, poor kids who had little or no training.
It is a fact that the more education you have, the more you will
question your actions - the more civilized you will be.
In the 31 years since we abolished the draft in 1973, we have created
an all-volunteer force of middle and lower class people who are
bearing the burden for the whole country.
Many young people today do not see the War on Terror as an imminent
and grave threat to national security. They are more concerned with
basketball fights and the price of a Playstation 2 game. They have
no desire to serve.
How can the military draw people to its ranks? If it plans on actually
continuing with an all-volunteer force, I believe that we must significantly
raise the pay of servicemen. And, I mean really raise it. Our government
wastes money on everything else. It's time to start paying these
people the equivalent of civilian salaries.
The U.S. Army in World War II was the last time the whole nation
was truly represented in the armed forces. People from all walks
of life joined together for one great cause. The banker from New
York crouched in a foxhole at Bastogne with the coal miner from
West Virginia. The Montana cowboy flew a bomber with the stock trader
from Philadelphia. Maybe it worked so well because people knew the
gravity of the situation at hand.
Maybe your average citizen cared a little more. I would feel more
optimistic about our winning the War on Terror if we could somehow
revive that great spirit of common national purpose.
[Have a comment on this opinion article? Sound
off in the Hot Issues with Defensewatch Forum.]
Ray Starmann is a Contributing Editor of DefenseWatch. He can
be reached at thrillerwriter39@verizon.net.
Please send Feedback responses to dwfeedback@yahoo.com.
©2004 DefenseWatch. All opinions expressed in this article are the
author's and do not necessarily reflect those of Military.com.
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