I found this advertisement in my research on suicides among Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. For some reason, in stuck in my mind. To me, this idea of the disconnect between civilians and the military is one of the reasons why the suicide rates for combat veterans rose as the Iraq and Afghanistan wars continued on. I know the print is small- it states,
"99% of American have seen combat on TV. 1% of Americans have seen combat in Iraq or Afghanistan."
Most present day Americans have less of a connection with the military than Americans did during WWI, II, and Vietnam. In a Tampa Bay Times article I found via LexisNexis, the author cites a Pew poll that found that during the 1980s, at least 40% of 18-year-olds had a military parent. In the 1990s, that number had dropped to 18%. Now, it states, "almost 70% of military-age American no longer have any direct ties to the military." This all links back to the isolation, separation, and uselessness that some veterans feel once they return home from combat. People don't understand their story. Not every man their age has served or has a brother who has served. Their is no longer a shared experience of war that was their during our previous wars. But how can this be fixed? A draft? Shorter wars?
I don't think that forcing people into the military is the solution to the feelings of veterans. To my knowledge (and I could easily be wrong, so please correct me if I am), the resentment that many Americans felt towards Vietnam, which was only exasperated by the draft, resulted in negativity towards veterans returning from conflict. This feeling certainly will not help with the issues you are discussing. I think perhaps a more feasible option than changing the make up of war is to change the opinions of people and have an extensive mental health network for veterans.
ReplyDeleteHayley, let me make one thing clear- I do not think that bringing back a draft would be realistic. However, I DO think it would make people more connected to the military and the wars that we are fighting. More people would question the wars we are fighting. It would also help to lessen the amount of multiple deployments that soldiers do. But in a military, it seems that the best force would be made up of people who have volunteered rather that those who have been drafted. Thanks for the comment!
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