Guest Author
After retiring from the Army, I became involved in my community, particularly with young people.
After becoming an elected official, I wanted to ensure they understood great military leaders like Joshua Chamberlain. The topic of whether young people should join the military often arose, and as a veteran, I recommended military service.
Currently, only 1% of the population serves in the military, but 71% of youth do not qualify. However, there are still millions of eligible youths who may consider joining but aren’t.
Their concerns about military service include media amplifying divisiveness, deployment worldwide without a clear purpose, and the U.S. government’s inadequate treatment of veterans, particularly in health care.
These concerns significantly impact young individuals considering military service. The lack of trust in leaders to prioritize the best interests of our youth adds to the uncertainty.
As veterans, this concerns us as we witness leaders failing to lead, perpetuating divisiveness, lacking a realistic foreign policy, and disregarding laws granting veterans’ health care choices. This growing sentiment makes us uncertain about recommending the same path to the next generation.
However, if our leaders work toward ending endless wars, providing veterans with health care choices, and seeking common ground, this uncertainty can be addressed.
We must clarify these concerns to ensure that young individuals who desire to serve their country can do so with confidence and trust in our leadership.
Doing this will again encourage many veterans to recommend military service to our youth.
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Jimmie T. Smith is a former State Representative, where he was the 2014-2016 Chair of the then-House Veterans and Military Affairs Subcommittee.
One comment
rbruce
September 8, 2023 at 8:38 pm
To paraphrase Henry Ford, the military can be very diverse, as long, as everyone in uniform dresses, acts, thinks, and perform as one. Current military leaders’ top priority is chasing tax dollars by boot-licking politicians who don’t have a clue what the military is or does. Today’s leaders have turned the military into a second-rate college campus full of administers who add zero value to the mission. Recruiting decrease mirrors the drop of straight white men enrolling in college. SWM do not want to join either organization where they are taken for granted and no resources are spent on their retention and promotion. SWM are not welcomed in the military or academia. If the Joint Chiefs want more non-SWM, then the get what they seek.
As a former enlisted, and Academy officer, for those SWM who have a strong calling to serve, select a MOS/Rating/O path that
is majority SWM. Do something operationally that is on or near the tip of the spear. Do your job and ignore politics. Buy a ring similar to King Solomon’s engraved with “This, too, shall pass.”
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