America's Military Today: The Challenge of Militarism - Hardcover

Ensign, Tod

9781565848832: America's Military Today: The Challenge of Militarism

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1565848837 ISBN 13: 9781565848832

Publisher: The New Press, 2004

In the face of seemingly unending resistance in Iraq and growing difficulty with recruitment at home, the U.S. armed forces are under increasing scrutiny from Congress, the media, the public, and even from within. America’s Military Today provides an eye-opening survey of the way the modern U.S. military enlists, trains, and deploys its all-volunteer force. Long-standing soldiers’ rights attorney Tod Ensign brings together a range of expert commentators to examine hot-button issues, including:

� The techniques used by the Pentagon to recruit and train a required 200,000 volunteers each year
� The controversial arguments being advanced for a return to the draft
� The military’s reputation as an exemplar in the promotion of racial minoritie
� The ongoing challenge of gender discrimination, sexual assaults, and bias against gays and lesbians
� The appropriate role of the armed forces in policing post–9/11 America
� The future of war fighting, with an emphasis on the continued relevance of the ordinary foot soldier

The book also includes first-person accounts from soldiers on active duty in Iraq, providing a harrowing and poignant picture of life at the sharp end of combat duty today.

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About the Author:

Tod Ensign is an attorney and the director of Citizen Soldier, a nonprofit GI rights advocacy group. He is the author of Military Life and America’s Military Today (The New Press) and a co-author, with Michael Uhl, of GI Guinea Pigs. He lives in Manhattan.

From Publishers Weekly:

Ensign, director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, has compiled this primer for potential recruits and concerned citizens. Chapters by various contributors cover tactics used in recruitment and basic training, as well as the intricacies of policies on women and sexual harassment, minorities, "don't ask, don't tell" and exposure to hazardous materials. A 50-page compilation of letters from soldiers now serving in Iraq and their families makes up the book's third chapter of 10; chapters on "Military Justice: An Oxymoron?," a possible draft and the demographics of the infantry round things out. If it all sounds a little disjointed, that is because it is. Perhaps because of its many authors, the book lacks a common analytical thread, and there are far too many instances where Ensign or another contributor offers a litany of facts as if they speak for themselves. As the subtitle makes clear, Ensign sees many current practices as needing reform, and his analysis, when it occurs, is pitched toward mobilizing forces for change. While they may find it a challenge, dedicated readers will be able to use this book in that capacity or as a compendium of aspects of service that are less likely to be discussed by recruiters.
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