![]() It appears that careerism, coupled with the increasing divide between soldiers and the society they come from, sustain this era’s “forever wars.”įixing this divide may be impossible. Commanders jockey to get their units into the fight. Promotions are put at risk when a soldier hasn’t had a combat tour. New commanders and young troops feel the need to show their seasoned seniors that they are worthy. Today’s professional soldiers feel that they no longer belong to the society that they came from.īut there is also a more insidious motivation that permeates this all-volunteer force - careerism. Also, they did not want to be part of “the wreckage of a self-absorbed Facebook culture.” They are bothered by the fact that few Americans seem willing to fight for their country. Why did they keep going back? To be sure, many said they would feel guilty if they did not stay with their units and comrades. Most interesting, upon returning home, these volunteers want to go back and risk life and limb even after it became clear that the war objective was never properly articulated and support back home was faltering. Since 9/11, most of the men and women in this voluntary force have served repeated tours in combat zones. What about today? The American military is now a professional force comprised of all volunteers. Volunteers or draftees rather than professional soldiers, they were still effective in defeating our enemies. Citizen soldiers came from towns across the country, stayed for the duration, and returned home soon after. Historically, soldiers fought for “the cause and their comrades.” These motivating factors were powerful. The increasing divide between the military and American society is most troubling and may explain why our current wars do not end. This disconnect is both a matter of bureaucratic preference and a by-product of broader problems in contemporary American civil-military relations. Even worse, the generals seem never to have asked hard questions about how the chosen strategy would achieve their civilian masters’ policy objectives. It appears that civilian leaders distanced themselves from the realities and limitations of the use of force in this case.
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