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‘Warrior culture’ obscures concept of citizen at war

The brass in our military service branches keep telling troops that they live in a warrior culture.

“This warrior ethos exhibits a hardiness of spirit, and moral and physical courage,” Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley said in May.

The nation is blessed to have people in uniform with spirit and courage. But does that make the military a warrior culture? And is a warrior culture what America wants?

I say no. But first, let’s be clear on one point.

We’re at war. Men and women in uniform today are serving, sacrificing and shedding blood in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But just because we’re at war doesn’t mean we’re warriors. We have nothing to prove by hyping the idea of a warrior culture.

I would prefer to see military leaders emphasize troops’ role as citizens.

All of us can’t be in the fight. The sad truth is that most Americans have no direct stake in either of the wars we’re waging today. But most of us really mean it when we say we support the troops. In turn, troops should remember that they are fighting for Constitution, country and citizenry — not to promulgate a permanent class of warriors.

Throughout most of its existence, the U.S. has not maintained significant combat forces except in time of crisis. The nation’s founders believed that everyday citizens would answer the call when needed and return to their farms when the war was over.

Throughout most of its existence, the U.S. did not have a draft. The nation conscripted soldiers during the Civil War, World War I, and continuously (except for a 15-month break) from 1940 to 1973.

In past wars, we convinced ourselves that our troops were citizens, representative of all. Of course, they weren’t. Blacks, women and others were under-represented. But for all its flaws, our military in the past was more representative of the nation’s citizenry than today’s. At least it represented just about all white men, rural or urban, liberal or conservative, rich or poor.

In a graduate thesis about the recent emphasis on warrior ethos, retired Army Col. Fred L. Borch wrote: “A general consensus emerged among American political elites in the 1950s that the Army must be a ‘citizen-Army’ composed of citizen-soldiers. While a cadre of professional officers and career noncommissioned officers would provide a nucleus for continuity and training, American politicians trumpeted the idea that the citizen — and not the professional soldier — was the foundation of the Army.” By extension, this reasoning applied to all service branches.

Today’s professional military is more competent than the citizen army of the past. But a dangerous trend is afoot. In the Army, cash-strapped teenagers are now being paid up to $20,000 for agreeing to ship out early. That’s on top of enlistment bonuses they already get.

To meet recruiting goals and war-fighting needs, we’re buying soldiers.

Many are taking the money out of simple need.

Military leaders, unit commanders and noncommissioned officers don’t help by trumpeting a warrior ethos. That’s not the American way.

I’m not proposing a draft. That makes no sense today. But military leaders should encourage and remind troops that they are citizens — that they are part of something important. They’re not part of some insular warrior caste. They’re part of all of us.

What we want to avoid at all cost is that future day when our troops fight not because they are Americans but because they are being paid.

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The writer, an Air Force veteran, lives in Oakton, Va. His e-mail address is robert.f.dorr@cox.net.