In light of all the injured and killed U.S. service personnel in Afghanistan and Iraq, it would be interesting to check what percentage of our society who volunteered is made up of upper-middle and upper-class citizens. Those of us who lived during the time of the Vietnam war remember the Credence Clearwater Revival song that talked about the “Fortunate Son.” These sons were able to avoid the draft because of the socio-economic class they were born into.
With the current all-volunteer military, this force is skewed toward the middle and lower classes of our society. Many couldn’t find jobs so the lure of sign-up bonuses and the GI Bill lead many to volunteer hoping they could get an education and find a meaningful job after leaving the military.
And so there are those who say we should put more boots on the ground fighting ISIS. Many probably don’t have children or grandchildren in the volunteer military. The point here is that many of those who promote further involvement have no “skin in the game.”
I commend President Obama for using drones to deal with the enemy. This has saved thousands of U.S. lives in a conflict we should have removed ourselves from years ago. Conflict in the Middle East has existed for hundreds of years; we should be prudent about further involvement militarily.
