[PenultimateManStanding]

My understandfing is that the South provides a disproportionate majority of American volunteer soldiers. There is, it seems, a culture of admiration for fighting and war in the south. I've been reading Ebeneezer Davis's accounts (a British citizen) of southern culture on the Gutenberg Project. He seemed to have mixed feelings about the Old South. He was a preacher by trade and admired many of the sermons he witnessed back in the 1840's in New Orleans and southern Louisiana. But he was disgusted by the slave trade. He gave many examples of how truly cruel it was. But that was a long time ago. Then again, we still have so many American soldiers coming from the south. The past lives still in the present. Any of you southerners care to comment on this?

[seahorse2]

Well, the assumption is the south provides "a disproportionate majority of American volunteer soldiers", which I'm not sure is true. Are there any statistics on this? We need to verify the assumtion. If not true, then it ends right there.

[Madpaddy]

42% FROM THE SOUTH, HOW DOES THIS COMPARE WITH POPULATION DISTRIBUTION?

http://www.newstatesman.com/200403010015

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'S')ince the draft was abolished in 1973 in the United States, the percentage of recruits to the military from the south and west of the country has risen, while the proportion of soldiers from the north and north-east has declined. Between 1985 and 2001, according to the defence department, the percentage of all recruits from the south rose from 34 per cent to 42 per cent. Meanwhile, recruitment from the north-east, as a percentage of the whole, has dropped from 22 per cent in 1977 to less than 14 per cent in 2001.

The claim that minorities are over-represented in the military is a myth. Black Americans are slightly over-represented among enlisted personnel, but they are represented in the officer corps at roughly the same level as they are represented in the comparable, college-educated civilian workforce. Latinos are under-represented in the military, compared with their numbers in the population. The groups that are truly over-represented in America's armed forces are whites from the south and west.

As the south and west have grown increasingly Republican in political orientation, they have accounted for an ever-growing share of US military personnel - while the new Democratic heartland of the north-east has contributed fewer and fewer soldiers over time to the military. The result is that the US military has become strikingly Republican in partisanship. Soldiers are not compelled to divulge their party loyalties. But the leading students of the subject believe that Republicans outnumber Democrats in the US military by a factor of 2:1 - and, in the officer corps, by as much as 8:1.

[PenultimateManStanding]

Thank you, Madpaddy. I've heard this before and met many Southerners. They do seem to have their own ethos and the US Military benifits from it as far as I can tell.

[NEOPO]

I say it is all related to economics yet I do not care enough to back that up with much more then a middle finger salute Sir!!

[PenultimateManStanding]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('NEOPO', 'I') say it is all related to economics yet I do not care enough to back that up with much more then a middle finger salute Sir!!

[PenultimateManStanding]

I find this question of American Military ethos to be very central to the whole peakoil situation. Angry militant voices such as NEO's are part of the picture, currently. It's a thin line between the violent soldiers of the right and those of the left. The US may well be put to the wall before long. It may turn out that America will fight to the death in the resource wars. And the left will be left high and dry, converted by popular tides.

[holmes]

PMS you speak reality! The lefts (and right but 100% left tho) entire ethos is based on cheap available oil insulation. An oil induced utopia. The whole one world love in concept is from delusional yippies insulated from the reality of the world by oil produced man made biomes. Hate America yet America has allowed them to be. No where else eccept maybe europe would they have as much vocal power. Other counties they would be crushed and culled. Oil goes they go. watch. Its comical now.
and teach your kids to kill in as many ways as possible. The society is not going to get less violent. watch. tis comical now.

[Aaron]

As a 3rd generation Southerner I can tell you that military service isn't seen as a "poor man's college" around here like John Kerry seems to feel.

Young men (& women) join for many reasons of course, but it offers the opportunity to get off the farm so to speak, & get out into the world.

At some point in a young man's life, he is certain that if he could just go to a mountain retreat & study combat with a master he could be the biggest bad-ass on the planet.

It's a socially accepted & even revered occupation around these parts, & you would never see somebody hassling a person in uniform. (Except maybe from immigrants perhaps)

The military also is very active recruiting around here. Been after my son for months.

On a personal level I can't say I don't understand the appeal of fighting the good fight in a just cause against a capable enemy.

[PenultimateManStanding]

well i'm on the west coast and the Marines are calling my son too. When this country is truly in danger and everyone knows it, our sons will flock to the recruiting stations. Even at my advanced age, I'll do what I can. But we aren't there yet.

[LaLaLand]

I was in the Navy and I can vouch that the south was the most represented region on my ship. The most common demographics represented were: mostly rural people, inner city people were also common, most people did not take college prep classes in high school and were not planning to go to college after getting out, their parents were typically laborers, San Diego was the first place many of these people saw outside of their home town. To my surprise their were not a lot of religious people. Again, the ship had a VERY diverse crew, but the socio-economic background of the majority of the crew was pretty obvious.

Why is the south so militaristic? Do people in the south truly believe someone/something is out to get them at any given moment? Bizarre. Then again, this world view is the perfect catalyst for recruitment into the welfare/warfare machine that is the US military. Considering southern people/states are the most adamant supporters of militarism, why would anyone except a socialist consider their "disproportionate" representation in the military unfair or unusual?

The US is in no danger of being invaded anytime soon. It's own government is more dangerous than any of the faux "enemies" constantly trumpeted via the mass media scare machine. If this country fails, it will be from within, not from fake invisible outside forces. Look at the economy now compared to 5.5 years ago; it's larger. Obviously Wall ST agrees with me. The government did more to screw up this countries outlook and economy post 9/11 than any foreign threat did. Anyone who believes otherwise needs to step away from their shut-in lifestyle for a while. Most foreigners who criticize "America" are criticizing the government, not the American people. AM radio propagandists claim otherwise, but then again they know their target audience doesn't know any better.

I'm hoping to see a viable secessionist movement in my life time. The South is simply to different from the Midwest as is the mountain West from the North East. And then there is Minnesota...

[pup55]

Link

Link

1. Southerners are more likely to enlist in the military because:

a. The educational system is bad, so they have less opportunity in "real life".

b. Their IQ is lower, so they don't realize how incredibly dangerous it is.

c. They like to shoot guns, eat MRE's, and make people get naked and form a human pyramid while they throw dog crap at them.

d. All of the above.

[mekrob]

Linky

The above link shows the population of the US (2005) divided into the regions. South makes up about 36% of the population, and the NE about 16%. So there is not a huge disproportion of soldiers from each region, but there is a slight change from civilian to military demographics.

[pup55]

Good work, Mekrob.

You are quite right, except that you assume that the portion of the population that is 18 to 25 is the same in all of the regions, which it might not be. I think there are proportionately more old timers in the northeast and upper midwest.

By the way, if any southerners are ticked off at me for the above, I was just teasing, sort of.

[NEOPO]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('PenultimateManStanding', 'I') find this question of American Military ethos to be very central to the whole peakoil situation. Angry militant voices such as NEO's are part of the picture, currently. It's a thin line between the violent soldiers of the right and those of the left. The US may well be put to the wall before long. It may turn out that America will fight to the death in the resource wars. And the left will be left high and dry, converted by popular tides.
well i'm on the west coast and the Marines are calling my son too. When this country is truly in danger and everyone knows it, our sons will flock to the recruiting stations. Even at my advanced age, I'll do what I can. But we aren't there yet.

[WildRose]

This is just a thought - I have not read anything to back it up - but I was wondering if the areas in the states where there are large military bases and military families might have some bearing on the numbers of recruits from those areas. So, if there are large numbers of military in Washington state, San Diego CA, along the southeast coast, could this influence young Americans nearby to join up?

[PenultimateManStanding]

did you see Madpaddy's post, Raph? blacks are not significantly over-represented and hispanics are under-represented.

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he claim that minorities are over-represented in the military is a myth. Black Americans are slightly over-represented among enlisted personnel, but they are represented in the officer corps at roughly the same level as they are represented in the comparable, college-educated civilian workforce. Latinos are under-represented in the military, compared with their numbers in the population. The groups that are truly over-represented in America's armed forces are whites from the south and west.