Tapping into the US Cultural Shift: Revising Enlistment Standards Today to Avoid Conscription Tomorrow
Abstract
This paper examines the Department of Defense's (DoD) ability to sustain an all volunteer force within the framework of our ever-changing society and the current statutory and regulatory guidelines that define enlistment standards. It seeks to answer some of the most common questions surrounding the quality of the current wartime force: (1) Has the U.S. military lowered its standards for enlistment?; (2) Have quality indicators declined against DoD's standards or against society as a whole?; (3) What impact have societal trends and cultural shifts within the American population had on DoD's ability to recruit a high-quality force?; and (4) What changes need to be made to ensure the quality and viability of the All Volunteer Force (AVF)? This paper will examine the relationship between the military and society since our nation's birth. It will address the nation's history of conscription, and outline the arguments both for and against it that led to President Nixon's decision to end conscription and create the modern all-volunteer force. The paper will include a decade-by-decade analysis of military demographics and trends since the inception of the AVF to determine whether the U.S. military has lowered enlistment standards or the quality of the post 9-11 recruit. Selected societal trends will be examined to determine how U.S. cultural and demographic shifts affect DoD's ability to recruit a high-quality force. Finally, a comparative analysis of military demographics and societal trends result in recommendations on how to best preserve the integrity of the all-volunteer force, without sacrificing core qualities and competencies.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 13, 2009
- Accession Number
- ADA530069
Entities
People
- Jennifer S. Walkawicz
Organizations
- National Defense University