May 29, 2017
Military is trending regional and 'all in the family.' We need more diversity.
As tensions rise in several regions, possibly leading to new U.S. involvement in Afghanistan and other combat operations, it’s worth pausing to truly consider who fights our wars.
Across the spectrum of military ranks and occupations, “service in the military, no matter how laudable, has become something for other people to do,” then-Defense secretary Robert Gates said in a speech at Duke University in 2010. He pointed to the relatively few students who would be considering military service upon graduation as symptomatic of the growing civil-military divide.
With an active-duty force comprising merely 0.4% of the U.S. population, this divide between the military and the rest of society is unsurprising. However, and despite the services’ continued efforts, two trends are making it harder to bridge the divide: increased regional and familial concentration within the armed forces.
Read the full article in USA Today.
More from CNAS
-
U.S. Servicemembers Face Vaccine Mandate Deadlines
Video
Members of the U.S. Armed Forces are facing deadlines to get vaccinated from COVID or face dismissal. Tim Boyum talks with Kate Kuzminski, director of the Center for a New Ame...
By Katherine L. Kuzminski
-
Sharper: Global Posture
Commentary
The Department of Defense is finalizing the first global posture review of the Biden administration, an assessment of the U.S. military's global footprint. What will the admin...
By Anna Pederson
-
Transitioning to Tech
Reports
Military experience provides service members with a range of technical and soft skills that can prepare them for meaningful employment in the private sector....
By Dr. Jason Dempsey, Katherine L. Kuzminski, Nathalie Grogan & Cody Kennedy
-
Air Force has range of options to respond to Covid-19 vaccine refusals
Video
Katherine Kuzminski, senior fellow and director of the Military, Veterans and Society Program at the Center for a New American Security, said the Air Force has a number of pun...
By Katherine L. Kuzminski
