THE ALL VOLUNTEER MILITARY AT 35 Printer Friendly

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THE ALL VOLUNTEER MILITARY AT 35

by Ed Ross

June 30, 2008

July 1 marks 35 years since President Richard Nixon created the all-volunteer military. Still, in some ways, an ongoing experiment, judging from the performance of the US Armed Forces over the past three and a half decades, it has been a big success.

There’s no question that today’s volunteer warriors are highly motivated, well trained, and very proficient. They are, without a doubt, the most capable, versatile, and professional armed force in the world.

We don’t know, however, whether the all-volunteer military will be adequate to meet the ongoing global threats from terrorists, state sponsors of terrorists, and other enemies over the next 35 years. And it's still too early to know the long-term effects of a totally professional military on American society.

During World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War, the draft was necessary to provide the millions of troops required. The US Armed Forces rapidly expanded to fight them, then contracted when they were over. Just over 16 million men and women served during World War II, 5.7 million during the Korean War, and 8.7 million during the Vietnam War.

The draft was discontinued in 1973, but the selective service system remains in place for just such contingencies. Today’s armed forces consist of approximately 1.42 million active duty members and another 1.45 million in the reserve components.

A large-scale conventional war requiring millions of soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines is less likely since the fall of the Soviet Union. However, wars with China and North Korea--both maintain large standing armies--are not out of the question. A conflict with Iran is also a looming possibility.

Nevertheless, given the reach, accuracy, and lethality of modern conventional weapons, it’s difficult to envision the US engaged in a protracted war of attrition like those that took place in the 20th century. Large-scale conventional wars have not yet been relegated to the dust bin of history, however, and the US must be prepared to quickly expand the size of the armed forces when necessary.

The more likely conflicts are those similar to the ones the US military has been engaged in since 1973 in Grenada, Panama, Kuwait, Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq.

When these events occur one at a time, they are precisely the kind of contingency the all-volunteer military is trained and equipped to respond to. The skills necessary to manage such conflicts are the kind that only a professional, all-volunteer force can provide. US military personnel not only have had to fight our enemies, but they’ve had to serve as peace makers and peace keepers, nation builders, diplomats, and, on occasion, local officials.

It’s when these conflicts occur simultaneously, like they have in Iraq and Afghanistan, and when they last years, not months, that they strain our military capabilities. A major challenge for the all-volunteer military now and in the years ahead is responding to multiple simultaneous conflicts.

After nearly seven years in Afghanistan and five years in Iraq, military leaders and outside experts agree the US Army is stretched. Many soldiers have done three or four combat tours, and we've had to rely heavily on National Guard and Reserve units. The US armed forces would be hard pressed to fight an expanded conflict in the Middle East with Iran or even a limited military conflict somewhere else in the world that required ground forces. Withdrawing all or most of our forces from Iraq might solve that problem, but at what cost?

Regardless of what we do in Iraq, right-sizing the all-volunteer military and determining where and how to deploy it will remain challenges. These are decisions American presidents, the US Congress, and the American people, when they go to the polls, must make. As they have always done in the past, the US military, all-volunteer or otherwise, will do whatever it is asked to do.

If we are to continue to rely on men and women who volunteer to serve in the armed forces, however, there is another challenge we all must worry about. Whenever a nation creates a class of professional warriors that is largely separate and apart from the rest of society, it's taking a risk. The risk Americans take is that, over time, the vast majority of people who don't serve in the military become less appreciative of the freedom those who serve make sacrifices to defend.

When Americans have depended on 1 percent of the population to do 100 percent of the fighting long enough, they will begin taking their freedom for granted. When you take something for granted is when you are most likely to loose it.

Currently, the US military is the most respected institution in American society. It hasn't always been that way, as any Vietnam War veteran can attest, and not every segment of American society today shares that respect. Some communities try to bar military recruiting stations. Many colleges shun Reserve Officer Training Corps Programs. Military guest speakers are not welcome at many high schools. Today, people who lack respect for the military are in the minority. Will they still be a minority 35 years from now?

As millions of World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam War veterans and their families die off, the loss of their love of country and respect for the military, born out of service and love of those who served, creates a void. The smaller number of veterans the all-volunteer military produces won't fill it. It's important that we find ways to give young men and women in America who do not choose to join the military other ways to serve that fosters love of country and respect for those who fight and die to defend it.

We owe a great deal to the men and women who are serving and have served in the all-volunteer military. Perhaps the best way we can thank them is by ensuring that our children appreciate them.