Overview
America's Military Today provides an eye-opening survey of the way the modern U.S. armed forces enlist, train, and deploy their all-volunteer force. Long-standing soldiers' rights attorney Tod Ensign brings together a range of expert commentators to examine key issues, including:- The techniques used by the Pentagon to recruit and train a required 200,000 volunteers each year
- The controversial arguments being advanced for a return to the draft
- The military's reputation as an exemplar in the promotion of racial minorities and the ongoing challenge of gender discrimination and sexual assaults
- The appropriate role of the armed forces in policing America
- The future shape of war fighting, particularly the continued relevance of the ordinary foot soldier.
The book also includes testimony from soldiers on active duty in Iraq, providing a harrowing picture of daily life at the sharp end of the armed services.
Synopsis
Drawing on a broad range of sources, from literature to letters from soldiers involved in the occupation of Iraq, Ensign (director, Citizen Soldier, a nonprofit GI rights advocacy group) sketches a portrait of life in the US military. The picture that results from his descriptions (with collaborators) of military training, morale in Iraq, misogynistic and racist treatments of women and minorities, military responses to the use of depleted uranium and veterans exposed to toxins in the first Gulf War, military justice, involvement in domestic affairs, and the current state of recruitment is not pretty for those concerned about the plight of soldiers, the effectiveness of the military, or even the health of American society. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR