amazongoddess
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- Posted: Sun, 12 Dec 2004 14:29:32 +0000
Zach McClure
At least the volunteer knew what they were getting themselves into when they signed up. The draftee doesn't get that choice. The volunteer, while he may not want to be in the present situation, wants to be in the military. And, to be honest, I've never yet met someone wanting to join the military who didn't have the mentality, to a certain extent, of "I wanna go to war and kill someone."
Ever heard of the "poverty draft"?
Many who "volunteer" feel they have no option to get money for college, or just a job. See:
How Washington's warlords are... Sending the poor to war
http://www.socialistworker.org/2003-2/459/459_05_PoorToWar.shtml
Quote:
The lower ranks of the U.S. military are filled by the working poor--young men and women who entered the military because of the promise of job training, government subsidies for college and an alternative to minimum-wage jobs. This is the impact of the "poverty draft"--what the military has relied on to drum up volunteers since conscription ended in the 1970s. But the economic problems that drive many people into the military often follow them into the barracks.
A recent Defense Department study concluded that 40 percent of low-ranking soldiers face "substantial financial difficulties." And no wonder. While the average officer in the higher-ranking grades can count on fixed pay and a benefit package that can rise into the six-figure range, the majority of enlisted soldiers receive no more than a poverty wage--on average, around $1,300 a month.
Another consequence of class inequality in the military can be seen in the disproportionate numbers of minorities. African Americans and Latinos are heavily concentrated in the lower ranks, while deeply entrenched racism ensures that no more than a token number of minorities climb the ranks into the officer corps.
While Blacks make up about 12 percent of the U.S. population, they comprise 22 percent of the military. Half of the enlisted women in the military are Black. It was therefore no surprise that 20 percent of U.S. casualties from the invasion of Iraq until the fall of Baghdad were Black. Together, Blacks and Latinos accounted for more than one-third of the casualties.
A recent Defense Department study concluded that 40 percent of low-ranking soldiers face "substantial financial difficulties." And no wonder. While the average officer in the higher-ranking grades can count on fixed pay and a benefit package that can rise into the six-figure range, the majority of enlisted soldiers receive no more than a poverty wage--on average, around $1,300 a month.
Another consequence of class inequality in the military can be seen in the disproportionate numbers of minorities. African Americans and Latinos are heavily concentrated in the lower ranks, while deeply entrenched racism ensures that no more than a token number of minorities climb the ranks into the officer corps.
While Blacks make up about 12 percent of the U.S. population, they comprise 22 percent of the military. Half of the enlisted women in the military are Black. It was therefore no surprise that 20 percent of U.S. casualties from the invasion of Iraq until the fall of Baghdad were Black. Together, Blacks and Latinos accounted for more than one-third of the casualties.
Also, 39% of those in Iraq are Reserves, or National Guard, so they are the so-called "weekend warriors" who ususlly help out in times of flood and earthquakes, but never really expected to be on active duty in a war. See:
U.S. Army Reservists in Iraq on the Front Lines, a Place Most Thought They Would Never Be Sent
http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGBW4RMXZWD.html
Quote:
When Harper, a 32-year-old mother of two from Benton, Ark., finished three years on active duty in the Army, she joined the Army Reserve to continue serving her country in a way that allowed her to raise kids and stay home with them.
Ten years later, she and hundreds of other reservists are stationed at Log Base Seitz, a logistical camp near Baghdad International Airport that comes under regular mortar fire from insurgents living in nearby Abu Ghraib town. She has been here six months, with six more months to go.
"I thought being in the Reserve meant we wouldn't go overseas until all the active duty had gone first," Harper said. "Honestly, people go into the Reserve not to be sent here."
But with the U.S. Army spread thin across Iraq, Afghanistan, Korea, Germany and a dozen other countries, the Pentagon relies on reservists and National Guard troops to serve in combat zones, often for longer terms than their active duty counterparts.
Ten years later, she and hundreds of other reservists are stationed at Log Base Seitz, a logistical camp near Baghdad International Airport that comes under regular mortar fire from insurgents living in nearby Abu Ghraib town. She has been here six months, with six more months to go.
"I thought being in the Reserve meant we wouldn't go overseas until all the active duty had gone first," Harper said. "Honestly, people go into the Reserve not to be sent here."
But with the U.S. Army spread thin across Iraq, Afghanistan, Korea, Germany and a dozen other countries, the Pentagon relies on reservists and National Guard troops to serve in combat zones, often for longer terms than their active duty counterparts.
