Debunking the myth of the underprivileged soldier

On November 8, I wrote this post — Who’s Defending America — where I debunked the myth that the US military “exploits poor, ignorant young Americans” and dupes them into joining the military.

In today’s issue of USA Today, Tim Kane and James Jay Carafano chime in on the same The Heritage Foundation research that I dicussed.

And they come to the same conclusions that I did and debunk these common myths puported by the unknowledable Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D):

A disproportionate number of the poor and members of minority groups make up the enlisted ranks of the military, while most privileged Americans are underrepresented or absent.

Myth 1 — Most Soldiers come from the poorest communities

…for every two recruits coming from the poorest neighborhoods, there are three recruits coming from the richest neighborhoods.

In fact, since the 9/11 attacks, more volunteers have emerged from the middle and upper classes and fewer from the lowest-income groups. In 1999, both the highest fifth of the nation in income and the lowest fifth were slightly underrepresented among military volunteers. Since 2001, enlistments have increased in the top two-fifths of income levels but have decreased among the lowest fifth.

Myth 2 — Most soldiers are uneducated (thus easily duped into military service)

…the education of every recruit, 98% joined with high-school diplomas or better. By comparison, 75% of the general population meets that standard.

Myth 3 — A disproportionate number of recruits are minorities

Allegations that recruiters are disproportionately targeting blacks also don’t hold water. First, whites make up 77.4% of the nation’s population and 75.8% of its military volunteers, according to our analysis of Department of Defense data.

Second, we explored the 100 three-digit ZIP code areas with the highest concentration of blacks, which range from 24.1% black up to 68.6%. These areas, which account for 14.6% of the adult population, produced 16.6% of recruits in 1999 and only 14.1% in 2003.

Kane and Carafano are on-the-nose with their conclusion:

Maintaining the strength and size of our all-volunteer military isn’t always easy. But Americans step up when their country needs them. To suggest the system is failing or exploiting citizens is wrong. And to make claims about the nature of U.S. troops to discredit their mission ought to be politically out of bounds.

You’re right…but the Left doesn’t really care about discrediting our troops (in fact, it’s one of their primary objectives ), and they don’t even understand the words “politically out of bounds”.

Posted by Robbie Cooper on Monday, November 28th, 2005 | Trackback |