Government officials are worried that the military is not diversified enough. A recent report showed that the majority of service members are part of what they call the family business, meaning military service runs in the family.
A surprising 80 percent of recent troops “come from a family where at least one parent, grandparent, aunt or uncle, sibling or cousin has also worn their nation’s uniform. More than 25% have a parent who has served,” according to a Pentagon report of 2012-2013 recruits.
Military service is a wonderful and proud tradition within many families.
What problem could the government possibly have with military service legacy?
Members of the Senate Armed Services Committee subcommittee discussed this topic recently in length. They are worried that the pool of service members is not as diversified as it could be.
When America had the draft, the military was made up of a more diverse population. At the height of the Vietnam War there were 3.5 million troops. They came for all walks of life, had different religious beliefs, different levels of education, different ideals and different backgrounds.
Now the military has closer to 1.4 million service members. The number of men and women entering the military is shrinking and so is the diversity within it.
If the military continues to mainly be made up of those in the family business, the military will continue to shrink and so will its diversity, or so the government thinks.
The pool of potential recruits is dwindling, which is going to force the Pentagon to think outside the family on ways to recruit new troops.
Lt. Commander Nate Christensen is the spokesperson for the Chief of Naval Personnel. He said the reason behind their worry is
We believe that this limits both the talent pool from which the Navy draws, as well as the diversity of background in our force, and ultimately could lead to a civil-military divide.
The Navy has a long tradition of sailors in the family business as 82 percent of them come from families with other service members.
The Air Force has an even greater number of families with multiple service members.
Eighty-six percent of current airmen have close relatives that have served in the military. The Army and Marines also have large numbers, 79 percent and 77 percent, of those in the family business.
Why do so many people decide to follow in the military service footsteps of their family members?
People make choices based on the life they have led and the people they have grown up with. Service members are likely to influence their family members to either join or not to join the military. Many that do join the military also enter the same branch of service that their family members were in. Fifty-nine percent of Army recruits come from a family that has close relatives in the Army.
The traditional make-up of the military no longer stands however. What was once mostly middle- and working-class men is now diversified with women in many of the positions.
There has been a large influx of women entering the military in the last few years as well. With the military opening doors to careers in fields women were not eligible to go into previously, the trend is set to continue. The military overall is shrinking, but in the last decade, the number of women joining the military has increased.
The government can’t afford to simply count on those entering the family business to keep the military strong. They’re going to have to start thinking outside the norm and recruit fresh blood, so to speak.
There are so many opportunities available in this age that the younger generation is not enlisting at the rate of previous years. The Pentagon is going to have to find a new incentive to get talented people to join the military.
In doing so, however, I hope that they don’t diminish the pride service members feel in continuing a family tradition. The term “family business” is being turned into a negative, when in fact it is a wonderful thing. I come from a family with a long line of service members and I married a sailor. I don’t know if our son will grow up and join the military, but I will be proud to have him in the family business, if he decides to.
There is nothing stopping anyone from joining the various military branches. The focus should be on those groups not currently represented. Why are they not joining the military? My father was in WW I and my oldest brother in WW II. My youngest brother and I were both in the Army but did not see any combat action. .We looked at military service as our duty to our country. Others should do the same.
Certainly have no problem with the terminology of the “military being a family business”. My particular side of the family has had 4 consecutive generations invested in military life…2 Navy, 1 Marine and 3 Air Force…of those, 1 retired and 2 KIA. Also, can see the argument for lack of diversity but subscribe that issue, really, to the lack of the draft. If you knew you had to go into the military, you might just make a conscious decision on which military branch you would care to join as well as the job to which you would aspire rather than let Uncle Sam decide it for you. That experience you would certainly pass on to your progeny. Lastly, passing on the family legacy of military service would have it’s benefits to the military itself in that the resultant mindsets would expedite assimilation into the basics of military service that might otherwise be demanded of basic training to accomplish.
Uhh maybe we would have more diversity if they weren’t constantly curting troops and denying enlistment opportunities? I mean this is written like no one wants to join when it’s quite the opposite. They’re turning people away.
I find it repulsive,degrading…
Csm Sutherland USA retired
Military service to our country is a wonderful thing that families want to continue a tradition of service shows the patriotism such families have. To say it is a problem highlife the lack of love of country those that expose such a on idea shows how far we have drifted from the founding principles of our once great nation
Our family has 3 generations of service in the USAF. The first generation my father, 4 years, and my father-in-law, retired AF, who served post WWII – Korean War time frame. I was in for 4 years in the late ’70’s. My husband was an AF brat. I was not, but I saw the benefit of serving my country for 4 years while learning a trade, and then afterwards using my GI Bill to go to college. My husband is retired AF. Our second son is a captain in the AF, and our third son is in basic training for the Nebraska Air National Guard. Our sons weren’t the typical AF brats because my husband was only stationed at one base stateside, and one base for a year unaccompanied while they were too little to remember. So they never had the typical moving around that most military brats experience. We never pushed our sons to serve; it was their choice. We all believe in serving God, family, and country.
It may look like a “family business” bUT it is more of a like mindedness than anything else.
I have a family of 4 cousins with 3 out of 4 who are retired navy. Of my siblings 3 others served 4 to 6 years in the military: my older brother was in the army, one of my sisters was in the navy, and my youngest brother was in the AF.
Our family is five generations of Military Service.
I don’t like the use of a term “Family Business” regarding the service of members of my family for any time period. I find it very insulting to everyone involved.
My family military service (with honor) goes back to our Revolutionary War. Ancestors and descendants alike have given and are giving Our America the benefit of our honest, honorable, and hardworking participation. Many of these Americans received honors over the years with government approved special pensions (after the Revolution), promotions, Citations, Medal Awards, and other accolades.
In most of these cases my family stepped up when needed in war and peace for a specific period of time. Very few in my ancestry were “career Military”. They all put themselves in jeopardy for the duration of hostilities. No one in my family has ever been “drafted”. The word is VOLUNTEER that is to be used regarding my family.
As are many other Americans we are proud to serve. It is a family tradition to step forward when needed. The use of “Family Business” I believe is derogatory and insulting to anyone who has ever entered one of our Military Forces.
Finally, members of my family have served this country in the Air Force (w/USAAF), Army, Coast Guard, Lifesaving Service, Lighthouse Service, Marine Corp., Navy, Public Health Service, and the Revenue Cutter Service, In all these instances it was during times of conflict and war.
I believe that worrying about every little “Politically Correct” issue regarding the participation of volunteer Americans who serve “for the duration of unrest” and those other patriotic Americans who “make Military Service a career” should not be defined as American’s who take on our military / government service as a “Family Business”. Give these brave and honorable Americans the courtesy of acknowledging them as heros and not Business (as usual) Families.
Well I was one of those in the family business. My oldest brother was in the Air Force, My next brother was in the Navy, I was in the Navy, and my youngest brother was in the Navy. 4 of eight children were in the military. I was surface (Amphib) Navy and two of my other brothers were airedals.
I would think the government entities that are worried about this subject would realize that their most trustworthy and honorable recruits come from so called military families. Other family members served before them with honor. Note also that not all members of any family – choose to make a career of military service.