The No-Dead War: The Price and Promise of America's Changing Attitudes Toward Casualties
Abstract
Why did the President feel compelled to qualify the military as "volunteer" in his discussion of the risks and merits of US intervention in Haiti? Perhaps this word appears innocently. Or even as a mark of national pride. But some observers inside and outside the military discern a more subtle, even sinister connotation. Volunteers, their argument goes, may be more easily committed to combat situations by our nation's civilian leadership than their drafted brethren were a generation ago, since a voluntary career in the military is presumed to entail acknowledged asks. This "you knew the job was dangerous when you took it" approach -- whether it in fact or not colors National Command Authority thinking about the employment of our forces -- is sufficiently real in the minds of many senior military officers to elicit their public and spirited criticism.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 22, 1996
- Accession Number
- ADA441998
Entities
People
- Karl Hofmann
Organizations
- National War College