From Draft NOtices, July-September 2020
Who Joins the Military and Why: An Initial Reconnaissance
Research with potential implications for counter-recruitment work
— Isidro D. Ortiz, Ph.D.
Change: gentrification
The demographic composition of the American military has been a subject of interest to scholars, journalists and counter-recruitment activists. Some of the last have contended that the composition reflects a “poverty draft.” A recent study provides insight into the issue. “A Mercenary Army of the poor? Technological Change and the Demographic Composition of post-9/11 U.S. Military” by Andrea Asoni et. al, sheds new light on the controversial notion that the “the American military is a mercenary army of the poor.” The investigators break methodological ground by analyzing individual-level data on two national samples covering the period 1979-2005. Their analyses of the data reveal, they claim, that “contrary to accepted wisdom, the U.S. military no longer primarily recruits individuals from the most disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds.” They also found that, in contrast to the past, those who join the American armed forces are at or above the median with respect to socio-economic indicators such as parental income, parental wealth and cognitive abilities — exactly the opposite of what other studies maintain. In other words, the armed forces recruited primarily from the middle-class sector of society. According to the investigators, at the roots of the change — which some have described as the “gentrification” of the military — are increases in the requirements of the “modern capital-intensive, information dominant, expeditionary American military.” According to the researchers, “the less affluent are less likely to meet such requirements.”
The study suggests that the composition of the military is dynamic, that change can occur. It is, however, right to raise questions about whether the findings are time-bound. In other words, do the data for the period 1979-2005 reflect developments since then? Also, does today’s military mirror that of the period covered by the study?
Change: darkening
Change in the composition of the military can also manifest in terms of ethnic/racial change. The Pew Center has shown how today’s military is “smaller in size, more diverse,” and with “more women in leadership.” According to Pew investigators, demographic change includes an increase in women. In 1970, women comprised one percent of the overall military force. By 1980, women comprised nine percent of the active-duty force. In 2017, women comprised 16 percent of the overall active military force.
In addition, Pew found that “the share of racial and ethnic minorities in the military has grown steadily in recent decades.” In 2004, 36 percent of the active military were racial or ethnic minorities. In 2017 ethnic and racial minorities represented 43 percent of the military. One of the most prominent changes in the darkening of the military is the increase in Latinos within the share of active duty military who are racial or ethnic minorities. In 2004 Latinos comprised 25 percent of the racial/ethnic minority category. By 2017 their percentage had expanded to 36 percent of the category. This change reflects the deliberate increase in targeting of Latinos for recruitment, which includes the “Yo Soy el Army” campaign launched during the Clinton administration. One outcome has been the “militarization of Latino youth,” which is extensively discussed in a special issue of the journal “Latino Studies: Latinos, Militarism and Militarization,” Latino Studies, volume 13, issue 1, 2015.
Continuity: persisting under-representation and discrimination
Some hold to the image of the military as an institution blessed with unlimited upward mobility. It can be argued that the image serves as an appeal for potential recruits, but it does not hold for Latinos. Recent investigations reveal that despite the growth in Latino numbers among the enlisted ranks, Latinos continue to be under-represented in the top ranks of the military.
As reported by the Latino veterans’ organization, CASABA Group, between 1995 and 2016, only one Latino had achieved the position of three-star general, despite the fact that during the same time the number of lower-ranked Latino officers had doubled. The findings drew concern from the founder of the organization. He declared the situation as a problem and stated, “[O]ne of my primary concerns is the fact that it’s gone on so long and the trends are going the wrong way.”
According to the CASABA Group study, there is no agreement on the reasons for Latinos’ underrepresentation among top military brass. Among the possible reasons are career path and cultural factors. Interestingly, racism was not identified as a factor. The notion that the United States has become a “post-racial society,” maybe influencing the thinking. On the other hand, the current protests against racism may lead to a rethinking of the issue and a more accurate image of the military versus other possibilities for upward mobility.
The issues of race and class in the analysis of the composition of the military are frequently treated separately. Recent trends in scholarship on the status and experiences of historically oppressed groups inform that what is truly needed is an intersectional analysis of the status and experiences of members of those groups in and outside the military. As the recent case of Pfc. Vanessa Guillen’s murder illustrates, oppression does not simply occur on the basis of race or class or gender; all are intertwined and must be considered in future analyses.
This article is from Draft NOtices, the newsletter of the Committee Opposed to Militarism and the Draft (http://www.comdsd.org/index.php/draft-notices).
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