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My limited contact with the military was emblematic of the growing civilian-military divide. According to a Pew Research Center survey, only 33% of adults aged 18-29 have an immediate family member who served in the military, compared to 79% of adults aged 50-64. My grandfather served in the Air Force as part of the \u201cGreatest Generation.” Yet, since 1973, fewer and fewer Americans have visibility into the armed forces. Even as it becomes more diverse, military service is still largely influenced by familial ties and remains isolated from civilian life. Historian Andrew Bacevich writes in his book “America’s New Militarism” that “the attitude prevailing on the civilian side of the civil-military divide can be summarized briefly: although we don’t know you, rest assured that we admire you\u2013now please go away.\u201d Many of the interactions I witnessed during Fleet Week reflected this dynamic. One woman allowed a group of young sailors to cut her in line for ice cream. Another asked to take a picture with them. Yet, for the most part, the public simply respected the sailors from afar, not knowing exactly how to connect or interact with them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nIn Secrecy, Surveillance, and Democracy, the growing civilian-military divide has been an underlying theme. The tension today between the media and the national security apparatus is fueled by this divide. Journalist Barton Gellman recounts in his book “Dark Mirror” an explosive interaction he had with Admiral William McRaven, the decorated veteran credited with leading the special ops raid that killed Osama bin Laden. \u201cUntil you\u2019ve got to pull the trigger, until you\u2019ve had to bury your people, you don\u2019t have a clue,\u201d McRaven told him. Gellman didn\u2019t reject the assertion, agreeing that \u201cWarriors and civilians are tribes apart.\u201d The implementation of the All-Volunteer Force (AVF) and several rounds of Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) had many net positives for the country. The 5 rounds of BRAC led to booming industries in places like Austin and Philadelphia and continue to save around $12 billion annually, meanwhile the unpopular Vietnam War demonstrated that a move away from the draft was necessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But they also had unintended side effects that must be addressed. According to Bacevich \u201cto the extent that the members of the AVF see themselves as professionals\u2013members of a warrior caste adhering to their own sets of principles\u2013they have little interest in nurturing a close relationship with society.\u201d There is also a socioeconomic divide; Marybeth Ulrich<\/a>, a 34-year veteran of the Air Force, writes that \u201cROTC programs are rare at the nation\u2019s most selective colleges and produce a fraction of the graduates they once did.\u201d With younger and wealthier demographics having little personal attachment to the military, national security issues go on the backburner, and this is reflected in the priorities of our elected officials. Ulrich writes that \u201cConstituents are not clamoring for an end to wars that they barely notice and that do not directly affect them.\u201d Even as the war in Afghanistan approaches its twenty-year anniversary and Americans writ-large indicate that they are weary of war, the public still looks for elite cues as to how the war should wind down in part because of this detachment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So how can we narrow the civilian-military divide? Bacevich suggests reviving \u201cthe moribund concept of the citizen-soldier.\u201d Crucially, this does not mean a return to the draft. Instead, Bacevich advocates reawakening a willingness to serve among privileged America through mechanisms like shorter enlistments, more generous signing bonuses, greater flexibility in retirement options, and the passage of a new GI bill that on principle ties federal education grants to citizen service. These proposed changes will make the armed services more diverse, more connected to America\u2019s universities, and more attractive to the children of America\u2019s elites. Policymakers may think more carefully about national security decisions if it is their children, not just the children of the less privileged, that are enlisted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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