Life in the U.S. Armed Forces: (not) just another job

265 Pages·2008·1 MB·English

by  Anni P. Baker

Life in the U.S. Armed
Forces: (Not) Just Another
Job
Anni Baker
Praeger Security International
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LIFE IN THE U.S. ARMED FORCES
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PraegerSecurityInternationalAdvisoryBoard
BoardCochairs
LochK. Johnson, RegentsProfessorof Public andInternational Affairs,
SchoolofPublicandInternationalAffairs,UniversityofGeorgia(U.S.A.)
PaulWilkinson,ProfessorofInternationalRelationsandChairmanofthe
AdvisoryBoard,CentrefortheStudyofTerrorismandPoliticalViolence,
UniversityofSt.Andrews(U.K.)
Members
AnthonyH.Cordesman,Arleigh A.BurkeChair in Strategy,Centerfor
StrategicandInternationalStudies(U.S.A.)
The´re`seDelpech,DirectorofStrategicAffairs,AtomicEnergyCommis-
sion,andSeniorResearchFellow,CERI(FondationNationaledesScien-
cesPolitiques),Paris(France)
SirMichaelHoward,formerChicheleProfessoroftheHistoryofWarand
Regis Professor of Modern History, Oxford University, and Robert A.
LovettProfessorofMilitaryandNavalHistory,YaleUniversity(U.K.)
LieutenantGeneralClaudiaJ.Kennedy,USA(Ret.),formerDeputyChief
ofStaffforIntelligence,DepartmentoftheArmy(U.S.A.)
PaulM.Kennedy,J.RichardsonDilworthProfessorofHistoryandDirec-
tor,InternationalSecurityStudies,YaleUniversity(U.S.A.)
Robert J. O’Neill, former Chichele Professor of the History of War, All
SoulsCollege,OxfordUniversity(Australia)
ShibleyTelhami,AnwarSadatChairforPeaceandDevelopment,Depart-
mentofGovernmentandPolitics,UniversityofMaryland(U.S.A.)
FareedZakaria,Editor,NewsweekInternational(U.S.A.)
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LIFE IN THE U.S. ARMED FORCES
(NOT) JUST ANOTHER JOB
Anni Baker
PRAEGER SECURITY INTERNATIONAL
Westport, Connecticut (cid:127) London
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LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Baker,AnniP.
LifeintheU.S.ArmedForces:(not)justanotherjob/AnniBaker.
p.cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN-13:978–0–275–98982–8(alk.paper)
1. Sociology,Military—UnitedStates.2. UnitedStates—ArmedForces—Militarylife.
3. UnitedStates.Army—Militarylife.4. Soldiers—UnitedStates—Socialconditions—
21stcentury. I.Title.
U21.5.B352008
355.10973—dc22 2007034148
BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationDataisavailable.
Copyright©2008byAnniBaker
Allrightsreserved.Noportionofthisbookmaybe
reproduced,byanyprocessortechnique,withoutthe
expresswrittenconsentofthepublisher.
LibraryofCongressCatalogCardNumber:2007034148
ISBN-13:978–0–275–98982–8
Firstpublishedin2008
PraegerSecurityInternational,88PostRoadWest,Westport,CT06881
AnimprintofGreenwoodPublishingGroup,Inc.
www.praeger.com
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
Thepaperusedinthisbookcomplieswiththe
PermanentPaperStandardissuedbytheNational
InformationStandardsOrganization(Z39.48–1984).
10987654321
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CONTENTS
Introduction vii
Acronyms xix
1.MilitaryRecruiting 1
2.Training 24
3.Officers 46
4.MilitaryBases 61
5.AtWorkintheArmedForces 77
6.OffDutyintheArmedForces 96
7.MilitaryFamilies 114
8.TheMilitaryasaCareer 136
9.War 157
10.TheMilitaryandAmericanSociety 179
Appendix:U.S.MilitaryRanksandUnits 201
Notes 205
Bibliography 225
Index 237
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INTRODUCTION
InmyworkasascholaroftheU.S.armedforces,Ihavefoundthatpeople
oftenexpressspecialinterestinwhatIdobecauseoftheirpersonalcon-
nection to the armed services. Sometimes it seems like everyone either
knowssomeoneservinginthearmedforcestodayorisrelatedtoavet-
eranofWorldWarII,Korea,orVietnam.Ifthiswereindeedso,thecon-
tours of military life would be as familiar to us as going to elementary
schoolorfillingouttaxforms.Butinfact,mostAmericansdon’thavea
clueaboutwhatlifeislikeinthearmedforces.
Public ignorance about militarylifeisachangefrom earliertimes. In
thedecades after WorldWar II,it wascommon for men to have served
in one of America’s wars or in the peacetime forces somewhere in the
world. Many members of Congress were veterans, and aspiring politi-
ciansfounditdifficulttogetaheadwithoutamilitaryrecord.Fromthe
1940sto the1970s, most Americans did havefriendsand relatives who
hadservedinthearmedforces.
Sincetheendofthedraftin1973,though,theexpectationthatyoung
menserveafewyearsinthearmedforceshasdisappeared,andthepecu-
liar subculture of the military has receded from public consciousness.
Unlesswehaveservedourselves,orhavebeenpartofamilitaryfamily,
mostofusdon’tknowverymuchaboutlifeinthemilitary,whypeople
joinandwhattheydo,whytheystayinorleave,orwhatitisliketowork,
play, grow up, and grow old on a military base. And even those who
are familiar with military life don’t know how it came to be the way it
istoday.
Thisbookisanintroductiontolifein theU.S.armedforces,fromthe
recruitmentprocesstoretirement.Itdescribesthesociety,traditions,ben-
efits,andresponsibilitiesofmilitarylifetoday,andhowthemostimpor-
tant aspects of military culture developed over the past decades and
evencenturies.Ihavewrittenthisbookwiththegeneralreaderinmind,
and particularly for the friends and relatives of servicemembers who
wouldliketoknowmoreaboutwhat reallygoesonbehindthewallsof
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viii Introduction
amilitarybase.Formerorcurrentpersonnelwillprobablybeannoyedat
thegeneralizationsthatI’vehadtomake,buttheytoomaybeinterested
inthestoriesofthosewhocamebeforethem.
Ibeganthisprojectwiththeconfidentbeliefthatitwouldbeasimple
surveyofwhatIalreadyknew.Asidefrommyearlierresearchandwrit-
ingonmilitarycommunitiesoverseas,Ihavepersonalknowledgeofmili-
tary life as a family member and a civilian employee on Army and Air
ForcebasesduringtheColdWar.Intheyearssince,Ihavekeptintouch
withmyfriendsinthemilitary,andIhavemaintainedthehabitofread-
ing military newspapers and journals. My sense of military life has
remainedfairlyaccurate.
OrsoIthought.OnceIstartedmyresearchonthisbook,Irealizedthat
sincetheendoftheColdWar,theU.S.armedforceshadchangedinsome
fundamental ways. Downsizing, reforms, privatization, and policy
changeshaveaddeduptoamajortransformationintheinstitutionand
the lives of itsmembers. Not only have the armed forces changed over
thepastfifteenyears,buttheyalsowentthroughatransformationfifteen
yearsbeforethat,whenthedraftended.Andthentwentyortwenty-five
years before that, at the beginning of the Cold War. And again, on the
eveofWorldWarII.Andsoon.ThefactisthattheU.S.armedforceshave
beenchangingandadaptingtonewcircumstancessincetheywereestab-
lishedatthebeginningofournation’shistory.
It is worthwhile to ponder this process of change. Every significant
transformationintheU.S.armedforces—every‘‘RevolutioninMilitary
Affairs,’’ or RMA, as the professionals call it—has been spurred by the
appearanceofanewthreattothenation’sphysical,economic,orgeopo-
liticalsecurity.Newtechnology,strategicpostures,andresourcesdevoted
tothearmedforcescontributetotransformation,butintheUnitedStates,
the main impetus for change has been a new threat on the horizon.
Today’sRMAisnodifferent,andacomparisonoftheoldthreatandthe
newhelpsusunderstandwhythemilitaryischangingthewayitis.
Fromthe beginningof the twentieth century until the 1990s, theU.S.
forces faced adversaries who were advanced, industrial nation-states:
Germany, Japan, the Soviet Union. Like every other nation, the United
Statesreliedonconscriptarmiesandindustrialtechnologytooverwhelm
itsenemies;theappallingwastefulnessofthetwoworldwarswasatragic
consequenceofthismodel.DuringtheColdWar,theUnitedStatesnever
directlywenttowarwiththeSovietUnion,butthetwosideseyedeach
otherthroughextensivewebsofmilitarybasesandhugegarrisonforces.
Families built air-raid shelters in their backyards, and the doomsday
clockpointedatonesecondbeforemidnight.Everyoneknewthatawar
betweenthetwopowerfulindustrialnationswouldresultinannihilation
oftheworld.
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Introduction ix
Ah,thegoodolddays.Inourpost–ColdWar world,themostserious
threat we face comes from ‘‘non-state actors,’’ terrorists, warlords, and
criminalswhooperateinelusiveinternationalwebs,or,worse,independ-
entlyandundertheradarofinternationallawenforcement.This‘‘asym-
metrical’’ threat cannot be met bythetwentieth-centuryforcemodel;it
requiresahighlytrained,flexible,professionalforcethatcanusecultural,
political,andeconomictoolstobattleanill-definedenemy.
Intheearly1990s,somemilitaryexpertsbegantopredictthatterrorist
groups,organizedcrime,andfailingstateswouldposethebiggestchal-
lengestonationalsecurity.Ittooksometimetoaccept,butbytheendof
thedecade,policymakersintheDoD(DepartmentofDefense)recognized
the danger and began to plan for a different type of military. When the
Bushadministrationcameintooffice,SecretaryofDefenseDonaldRums-
feldofferedablueprintforchangeinhisfirstQDR(QuadrennialDefense
Review):‘‘itisnotenoughtoplanforlargeconventionalwarsindistant
theaters.Instead,theUnitedStatesmustidentifythecapabilitiesrequired
todeteranddefeatadversarieswhowillrelyonsurprise,deception,and
asymmetric warfare to achieve their objectives.’’1 The QDR was pub-
lishedon September 30,2001,just weeksafter the attacksof September
11provedtheterriblerealityofsuch‘‘asymmetrical’’threats.
According to the new plan, the bulk of America’s forces will be sta-
tionedpermanentlyonbasesintheUnitedStates,butunitswillbetrained
in‘‘rapidresponse;’’thatis,theywillbepreparedtodeployanywherein
the world within hours. Many large bases overseas will be closed or
scaledback,withnew,slimmed-downversionsestablishednearertothe
action.
Thenewthreatsareexactlywhatmanyexpertspredicted,andtheU.S.
militaryisdoingitsbesttomeetthemwithanexpertprofessionalexpedi-
tionary force. Unfortunately, the war in Iraq has derailed many of the
administration’sproposedreforms,andtheArmy,America’slargestmili-
tary force, is, according tomanyexperts, closetoabreakingpoint. Fre-
quent deployments, obsolete equipment, and lack of time to train
between deployments have left the Army in an exhausted state. It
remainstobeseenhowtheArmyandtheMarineCorps,theotherbranch
mostdeeplyinvolvedinIraq,willrecoverfromthestressesoftheircom-
mitmentsinIraqandAfghanistan.
U.S.MILITARYHISTORYINANUTSHELL
Strangely enough, there really isn’t a strong military tradition in the
UnitedStates,oratleasttherewasnoneuntilthesecondhalfofthetwen-
tiethcentury.Distrustofstandingarmiesplayedanimportantroleinthe
colonial rebellion against Great Britain, and many of the nation’s