U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Neil Nunez from San Pedro, Calif., of Task Force Black Knight, Co. A, 3-66th Armor Reg., 172nd Inf. Bde., watches the ridge line behind the platoon to make sure that no one is following them near the village of Sar Howza, Paktika province, Afghanistan, Aug. 10, 2011. U.S. Army Photo by Spc. Jacob Kohrs
Begun on June 8.
Adding some more thoughts to the footnote in this post. Nothing really new here, I've written bits and pieces elsewhere, but google search for the blog does not seem to be working. (Problem with the browser?)
Are those serving in the national military, especially the lifers, prone to accepting the "proposition nation" as what explains what it means to be American? The lack of roots or ties to their home community and to their host communities (the civilian community surrounding their base), the mobility that is necessitated by transfers and change in assignments would be contributing factors in the weakening of identity. Given the way units are manned, they are from all over the country, probably lacking a cohesive regional or state identity.
How about ethnic identity? Is this strong, within the military? Some would claim that it is not, but it depends on the unit and the specialty. There may be more racial integration within combat units than within support units, because of the demands of combat. The bonds of affection based on the brotherhood of arms and what soldiers do for one another are primary.
The institutional culture of the military appears to dominates everything else, as there is very little participation in local culture. (Particularly in the South? A disdain of the natives as backwards and uneducated seems to be common.) The military cannot but take Americans as they are, and they are mostly consumers of mass entertainment. Base life does very little to change this.
Lacking a local or regional identity, what are they left with except a national identity? It's the only constant despite all of their moving and changes of personnel. It does seem that most of those who are in the military (at least those in combat arms) are Republicans, embracing small-government conservatism, fiscal conservatism, and defense and upholding of the Constitution-- but this is all compatible with the proposition nation.
The U.S. Army is not like the National Guard in this respect. But even the National Guard is affected by the mobility of its members. How much loyalty to the state is there among NG members? I have read that most of those serving in the military are from the South. Is this true especially of combat units in the Army? How do the demographics differ among the various branches of the U.S. military?
Something of interest to Sarge?
A former Lt. Colonel in SF is running for Congress in Virginia.
U.S. Army General David H. Petraeus reviews troops at his retirement ceremony and Armed Forces Farewell, Joint Base Meyer-Henderson Hall, Va., August 31, 2011. Petraeus is retiring after a 37-year career to become the director of the Central Intelligence Agency. (DoD photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley/Released)
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