Contemporary American War Veterans: A View from Within

Veterans are viewed heroically and worthy of society’s high praise for their service. This modern view of veterans and their families is due in part to America’s collective guilt following its Vietnam experience, which saw society and government alike broadly turn its back on veterans of the conflict.

After Vietnam, significant investments in professionalizing (education, training, equipping) America’s all-volunteer armed forces, coupled with several tactical (Grenada, Panama, Haiti) and strategic (Cold War – “tear down that wall, Mr. Gorbachev…”) ‘victories’ solidified the American military’s standing in society. Paradoxically, a by-product of the all-volunteer force created after Vietnam (in part, to build societal support for the military) has been the onset of the deepest cultural divide between those who volunteer to serve and those who do not. Today, less than one percent of Americans volunteer to serve their country. One could argue that like its conscripted ‘cousin,’ the all-volunteer force has lost its universal appeal. 

In response, today’s generation of warriors has had to organize differently. The days of wholesale involvement by the nation have been replaced by pocketed and in fact, individualized deployment. Organizations like Iraq, Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) and Student Veterans of America (SVA) formed to address the needs of this next generation of veterans. The practice of generationally creating veterans’ organizations follows historical precedence in this country. Over time, further fragmentation and self-interest has seen American veterans’ organizations organize along select religious, cultural, and functional identities to address their members’ individual needs.

It is because of this self-interest and further fragmentation by Veterans’ Service Organizations that organized veterans’ advocacy does not take place in this country. One could argue that the greatest obstacle facing veterans today is their own generational bias and self-interest getting in the way of adopting more universal approaches to meeting their needs.