seems to provide the bulk of enrollees into the services with some exceptions. Makes sense in a way, some families, it's a tradition. In others, the enrollees are perhaps leaving their current situation (no jobs where they are at, etc.), and hoping for a better live elsewhere, etc.

My father flew B-17s in WWII. In 1965, after dropping out of college for a number of reasons, I was suddenly in danger of being drafted. I considered all of my options and decided to enlist in the USAF. Why that? Well, I wasn't keen on taking off to Canada, and didn't want to be a rifle toter in Vietnam, so I sort of followed in my father's footsteps and joined the Air Force. Not to fly a plane, of course, but without any plan other than to deal with my upcoming military service on my own terms.

So, did I become part of a military caste system? Not on your life. I served my four years, doing what the USAF thought I'd be good at, and then got out and got on with my life.

You're right, though, if one's parents or other relatives served in the military, it's more likely that you'll make that choice if there's a reason to. But that doesn't make it a military caste system. It's just a choice you're more aware of than you might be otherwise.

As for the current situation, I don't know. I know one son of a friend who is in the Navy. Beyond that I don't know anyone who is in the military at the moment.

And other stories are popping up parroting the same theme.

Why is the mainstream media trying to dispel the reality of what we all know is an ECONOMIC DRAFT that disproportionately impacts the poor and people of color?

Rich kids aren't being fed into the gaping maw of the elite's war machine. What's the purpose of this narrative do you suppose. Why set this agenda.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/who-signs-up-to-fight-makeup-of-us-recruits-shows-glaring-disparity/ar-BBYQ89L

That's specifically my point: what you're imagining happens in the military isn't what actually is happening:

https://www.military.com/join-armed-forces/whos-joining-military-myth-vs-fact.html

https://www.cfr.org/article/demographics-us-military

We aren't "sending poor people off to fight", in fact we're keeping poor people who want to enlist out. Instead we're solidifying a hereditary military caste of the middle class.

It looks like the racial make-up of most of the branches reflects the population pretty well, except for asians. Only the Marines, though, had a smaller percentage of blacks than civilian employment. In the other branches, black members exceeded the civilian employment averages.

That's just one look at the branches, of course.

hell, we demonstrated against the draft for that reason.

We're we wrong? Do we need conscription to make the military more representative?

That's the big difference there.

Is the sudden spate of mentions and article paving the way for a return, is that what they're getting at?

I don't believe in coincidences, there's always a motive.

This dumb draftee is against it but the late Colonel Hackworth had some reasoned thoughts on the merits of a citizens' army that I find difficult to dismiss.

"Even when they pissed me off, I had to admit there was something I liked about the draftees who didn't want to be there and made no bones about it. I like draftees in general, even with the attendant problems. Historically draftees have kept the military on the straight and narrow. By calling a spade a spade, they keep it clean. Without their "careers" to think about, they can't be easily bullied or intimidated as Regulars; their presence prevents the elitism that otherwise might allow a Regular army to become isolated from the values of the country it serves. Draftees are not concerned for the reputation of their employer, the Army (in Vietnam they happily blew the whistle an everything from phony valor awards to the secret bombings of Laos and Cambodia); a draftee, citizens' army, so much a part of the history of America, is an essential part of a healthy democracy, one in which everyone pays the price of admission." - Colonel Hackworth, About Face

It was easier and they wanted me more than being hired by a regular job.

Again when I was in there were plenty of poor enlisted.

Tom DeLay and Dan Quayle military service

He and Quayle, DeLay explained to the assembled media in New Orleans, were victims of an unusual phenomenon back in the days of the undeclared Southeast Asian war. So many minority youths had volunteered for the well-paying military positions to escape poverty and the ghetto that there was literally no room for patriotic folks like himself. Satisfied with the pronouncement, which dumbfounded more than a few of his listeners who had lived the sixties, DeLay marched off to the convention.

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/chatterbox/1999/05/what_did_you_do_in_the_war_hammer.html


https://www.google.com/search?source=hp&ei=rLJkWsTHOYTQjwPs4ai4DA&q=tom+delay+military+service&oq=tom+delay+military+service&gs_l=psy-ab.3..33i160k1.5268.23130.0.25569.34.32.1.0.0.0.410.3920.0j23j4-1.25.0....0...1c.1.64.psy-ab..8.25.3899.6..0j35i39k1j0i131i67k1j0i67k1j0i131k1j0i46i67k1j46i67k1j0i131i46i67k1j46i131i67k1j0i20i264

Not the first I've seen

What's the fucking point? Are these stories meant to make nice 'middle class' people think war is just fine because 'look WE are the ones enlisting, just like WE buy lattes and lawn chairs! No one would protest lattes and lawn chairs!'

-30-

... and the number of service members keeps decreasing. Once the big bubble of Vietnam-era vets starts to mostly die off, it's going to be hard to justify the V.A. medical system at its current size.

The military can be more and more selective in recruiting, due to decreasing manpower needs and increasing need for literacy and math skills.

I'm not surprised that the middle class supplies much of the military staffing. Good access to decent public schools.

I forget what former Rep. Charlie RANGEL did to fall from the very high grace as a Dem, but the respect I had for him before that didn't just disappear. And he, a veteran, said that minorities were heavily represented in the military because of lack of jobs, difficulty accessing training/education to get jobs. He spoke from his experience and mine matched his.

I appreciate the o.p.'s distinction between "a bad economy" and the broader term "poor people" and I subscribe to the latter as enlisting.

The further excerpts (below) from the link ..support RANGEL's point.

The draft was an economic and class equalizer. Somewhat off-topic, I believe that most of the Vietnam protest was against the draft rather than *for* peace. That is what the chickenhawks learned from Vietnam, so by the time Iraq came around they took the draft out of the picture so as not to sabotage their war mongering from the start.

I disagree that a "hereditary military class" has resulted since the offspring of those who enlisted for economic reasons are no longer in the bad economic condition, were born into a head-start to access training/education to get better jobs. I agree that "familiarity with the military" via having had relatives in the military is a factor in enlisting, knowing what you're getting into.

**********QUOTE******

.... Enlisting, he said, enabled him to build a good life where, despite yearlong deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, he felt proud of his work, got generous benefits, never worried about being laid off, and earned enough that his wife could stay home to raise their children.

“Show me a better deal for the common person,” he said. ....

This was not always the case. Military service was once spread fairly evenly — at least geographically — throughout the nation because of the draft. But after the draft ended in 1973, enlistments shifted steadily south of the Mason-Dixon line. The military’s decision to close many bases in Northern states where long winters limited training only hastened the trend. ....

“We (recruiters) just tell them our story: ‘This is where I was, one of six kids living in a trailer. This is where I am today.’ Good pay check. Great benefits,” he said, adding that even in good economic times, it is an easy sell. His recruiting station made its goals handily this month. ....

**********UNQUOTE**********