My tuppence-worth on the US military and truly thanking veterans.

I suppose I’m a pacifist. I come from a neutral country and I’ve read enough history to know that wars are usually started for political and economic reasons instead of moral reasons. I respect those who join the military to serve their country. They deserve all the appreciation their country can show but the best way to thank a soldier is to work tirelessly to keep them at home. In America, there’s a huge culture of showing appreciation for the troops but it goes no further; there’s little scrutiny of decisions made and the military hasn’t really featured in this election cycle. It was watching HBO’s phenomenal Band of Brothers from 2001 that got me thinking of the military and after seeing what those men endured, I am more convinced than ever that it shouldn’t be ‘thanks’ we’re saying but ‘sorry’ and ‘never again’. 

The military pretty much has the monopoly on American patriotism, criticism of it is subdued and standing for the troops at a game is just something you do. In 2017, a New York Times opinion piece included the following,

Across the post-draft decades, praise for the sacrifice of servicemen and servicewomen has become more than the decent thing to do. It is widely seen now as almost holy obligation. Anything short of worship risks heresy

New York Times, 24 Oct. 2017

Before every sporting event I’ve attended here in Chicago, four or five veterans and currently-serving members are walked out on to the field, their names and titles announced and the audience stands in applause as thanks before the anthem is played. Students discounts are not big here, but military discounts are offered almost everywhere. The country that averages just sixteen days of paid leave has two federal holidays for military remembrance; Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day. Insurance companies heavily advertise their military packages as means of reflecting their commitment to American values. Federally funded schools are required to allow recruiters access to campus. In 2019 15.8% of the federal budget went on ‘national defense’ (2.2% went on education) and it’s a brave candidate that’d call for cuts to the $738 billion of planned military spending for 2020.

So, who enlists in the military?  The army is aiming for 68,000 new recruits in 2020. Contrary to what I thought, the army isn’t made up of lower-income people with limited options tempted by the prospect of a college education and a fresh start. Class and race aren’t distinguishing factors; yes, African-Americans are slightly more likely to serve but the racial makeup is more or less reflective of young Americans as a whole, and the army recruits almost evenly from the working classes as it does from the middle classes[2]. Certainly, more recruits come from the south and the main driving decision to enlist is knowing someone who served in the military or coming from an area with a history of recruitment; “more and more, new recruits come from the same small number of counties and are the children of old recruits”[3]. However, the numbers are going down – it’s been a long time since the post 9/11 rush to enlist and they can’t keep relying on these communities of military families – but it’s testament to the presence of the military in this country that so many young people continue to enlist of their own volition.

So, what’s the problem then? By passively assuming the military represents boundless bravery and heroism, and viewing criticism as taboo, there is little scrutiny of decisions taken that lead to war. It’s all good and well celebrating the assassination of Qasem Soleimani when you’re not the one that’d be deployed to Iran. And we can’t wholly trust politicians to make decisions in best faith because war often goes down well with voters (obviously not always, see Iraq II and Vietnam) and has sometimes been great for politicians’ personal ratings (Thatcher’s popularity peaked during the Falkland War, the first Iraq war earned Bush Snr. his highest ratings). All too easily criticism of the military can be construed as disrespect for the individuals who served so we just keep our mouths shut and wear the poppies (not me) or stand for the troops. The original spirit of Armistice Day was ‘never again’ but in the intervening years ‘never again’ has been watered down to a more suitably vague ‘thank you’. The military thrives on our passiveness; it suits political and military leaders just fine that we don’t ask too many questions. In 2015, former Marine Corps officers and now-Congressman Seth Moulton told The Atlantic that it was widely agreed amongst those with Iraq-era military experience, that if more members of Congress or the business and media elite had had children in uniform, the United States would probably not have gone to war in Iraq at all[4]. I worry that it has become too easy to start wars; here’s a chart to calculate the percentage of your life the US has been at war and according to the Dept. of Defense figures released last week, between March 2003 and August 2010, 4,432 Americans died in Operation Iraqi Freedom and in Afghanistan 2,218 Americans were killed between Oct. 2001 and Dec. 2014 – and that’s without mentioning the thousands of Iraqis and Afghanis killed. 31,000 Americans have been wounded in action in Iraq; that’s basically the population of Leitrim[5]. Doing more to avoid war would be a far better way of thanking troops than standing for them at a game; perhaps it’s time to start doing both.

The real-life men whose story Band of Brothers tells appeared to be very modest men who wanted no fuss made, who lauded others but were modest of their own contribution. If we’re serious about thanking them then yes, keep standing for them at baseball games and wearing poppies, but it’s just as important use your vote to stop the trauma they endured being endlessly repeated. And next Memorial Day or Veteran’s Day or Remembrance Day, remember the “never again” origins of the commemorations. I’ll leave the last word to Harry Patch, the last surviving combat soldier of the First World War from any country,

One a side note, the Band of Brothers soundtrack is one of my favorite of all time. Take a listen, it’s stunning.

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[1] New York Times, 24 October 2017

[2] New York Times, 10 January 2020

[3] ibid

[4] The Atlantic, Jan/Feb. 2015

[5] US Dept. of Defense, Casualty Status, February 2020.