Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

Since the end of the draft in 1973, the United States’ military has depended on volunteers to fill its ranks. In order to increase the number of volunteers, the military has used marketing and incentives to shape attitudes. Many of these incentives are economic, in the form of signing bonuses or money for college, which has fostered a belief that most enlisted members are from the low-income families that are most likely to be influenced by these types of incentives. However, Department of Defense data shows this to be false; when comparing numbers with society in general, the lower-class is underrepresented, while the middle-class is overrepresented. If not economic reasons, what attracts Americans to an all-volunteer service? Department of Defense data indicates that 80% of recruits are from families with a history of military service, and children with career military fathers are ten times more likely to volunteer for military service.

An insular military subculture forming in the United States could have broad implications on the health of our democracy and the attitudes of those that swear to protect it. This paper examines the attitudes of military personal and what influences their opinions on their own military experience and how these opinions translate into their desire for their children to serve in the military. This new dataset was gathered by Delton T. Daigle of the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University, in partnership with Stars and Stripes and the Smithsonian Magazine Veterans’ Day Poll in the fall of 2018. It was an anonymous sample, web survey controlled via email invitation codes sent to 21,364 Stars and Stripes subscribers. The survey was comprised of 30 multiple-choice questions and one write-in question. Four key variables were chosen from the broad survey to determine their impact on a veteran’s desire for his or her own child to serve. These variables were: if the respondent was an officer or enlisted member, branch of service, feeling on how the military prepared them for life after service, and support of the War on Terror. Findings indicate that there is a positive relationship between a veteran’s experiences and support of military missions, and their desire for their child to serve. Surprisingly, serving as an officer or enlisted, and branch of service had little impact on a veteran’s desire for their child to serve in the military. Feelings on how well the military prepared respondents for life after service had the greatest effect on respondent’s opinions towards their child serving in the military. These finding can be used by policy-makers and scholars concerned with a growing military-civilian divide. It may be counter-intuitive, but focusing on training that prepares service members for life after service may to be the best way to encourage retention. Targeting new recruits with this type training could provide a high rate of return and powerful word of mouth recruiting in home communities. Additionally, including more training located in civilian schools, with other civilian students, could breakdown insular barriers.