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overwhelmed system and
expand educational benefits
for veterans and their
families, we must take care
to ensure that these veterans
are supported in the years to
come.
How does a nation go
to war without building
a larger military through
costly recruitment measures
or creating an unpopular
draft? Civilian contractors.
At the height of activities
in Iraq and Afghanistan,
there were more civilian
contractors with “boots on
the ground” than military
personnel. While far from
being a flawless institution,
the military is subject to
public, legislative, and media
scrutiny of its policies,
procedures, and costs
associated with operating a
mission. Private contractors,
citing proprietary business
practices, are not subject
to such oversight. Civilian
contractors, among other
problems, can also be a
detriment to troop morale
and mission performance.
Civilian contractors can earn
higher salaries than service
members for completing the
same type of work and are
able to quit their jobs without
the risk of being absent
without leave.
How might war reach
beyond the military to
the U.S. public? Cyber
war and its companions,
cyber espionage and cyber
“hacktivism.” The broad-
sweeping implications,
such as massive personnel
data security breaches, the
ability to bring banking in
a country to a standstill,
and the possibility of
hacking into U.S. weapon
systems, were almost too
frightening for the students
to contemplate.
Finally, having developed
a healthy respect for their
favorite scholar from the
semester’s materials—
Andrew Bacevich, former
Army officer and professor
of International Relations
and History at Boston
University—the students
overwhelmingly called for the
need to develop diplomatic
rather than militaristic
interventions to international
crises. According to Bacevich,
since 1980 the United States
has “invaded, occupied,
garrisoned, bombed, or
raided” 19 different countries
in the Islamic world alone,
sometimes within the same
time frame. To what extent
can we keep up such a pace
in terms of a war chest,
strain on an all-volunteer
military force, and the costs
to the civilians living in and
emigrating from war-torn
regions?
ran care, and cyberwar
As we listen in the
coming months to the
wide field of candidates in
this presidential primary
season, all of us, like our
students, need to consider
the complexities facing
the armed forces as one of
several key issues presidential
candidates will need to
address.
How might war
reach beyond the
military to the
U.S. public?
Susan M. Ross, Ph.D., professor
of Sociology. Her areas of
sociological interest include
military, family and law.
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