Elukutselisest sõjaväest: Hvostov, Reinhardt, Kane

Selle nädalasest Ekspressist võib lugeda jätkuvalt ajateenistust pooldava Andrei Hvostovi kirjutist, kust võib muuhulgas leida järgneva üpris kohatu võrdluse:

Kasutades Jürgen Ligi mõttekäiguga sarnast lähenemist, tahan rõhutada, et palga maksmine tudengitele oleks väga õiglane. Ühiskond on seda võlgu nendele tuhandetele neidudele-noormeestele, kes töötavad palehigis ülikoolide auditooriumeis ja raamatukogudes. Kaugeltki mitte kõik keskkoolilõpetajad ei lähe okkalisele kõrghariduse rajale; paljud nende eakaaslased hängivad muretult suurte linnade ostukeskustes või tšillivad väikeste maakohtade poe juures Sarvikut juues.

Kohatu on selline võrdlus sellepärast, et vastupidiselt ajateenistusele saab iga tudeng ise valida, mida soovib õppida ja seda teadmisega, et ta soovib selles valdkonnas tegutseda ning ülikoolis omandatust on talle hiljem tööturul kasu. Lisaks selle on tudengid vabad õpingute kõrvalt töötama ja oma elu elama. Vastupidiselt ajateenistusele on kõrgharidusega inimestel hiljem elus mingit kasu ning tegu ei ole maha visatud ajaga. Ma saaks Hvostovi mõttekäigust aru kui kõrgharidus oleks kohustuslik, kuid seda ta ju ometigi ei ole.

Probleeme on minu arvates selles arvamusloos teisigi, kuid need, kes Vabalogi loeavad juba teavad, kuhu jutt varsti pöördub.

Aega ajalt kerkib ka USA's sõjaväe komplekteerimise teema üles, seekord siis seoses John Kerry hooletu sõna valikuga (YouTube), millele sellel nädalal on ilmunud kaks järelkaja. Kõige pealt Uwe Reinhardt Washington Postis:

There is ample evidence that the elite now running America has grasped the economists' dictum. To be sure, the officer corps is drawn from the ranks of college graduates, and a tiny minority of college graduates do heed that call. On the other hand, it is well known that to fill the ranks of enlisted soldiers, sailors and Marines, the Pentagon draws heavily on the bottom half of the nation's income distribution, favoring in its hunt for recruits schools in low-income neighborhoods. Certainly few if any of Kerry's elitist critics on the right, all of them self-professed patriots, have served their country in uniform, let alone in battle; nor have many of their offspring.

Reinhardt'i "On the other hand, it's well known..." vastu räägib aga Tim Kane'i värske uurimus, millest mees on ka kena kokkuvõtte teinud:

A recent demographic study by this author, published three days before Senator Kerry’s gaffe, reviews the data on all enlistees, not just a sub-sample. The average American enlistee is more educated—not less—than the average young civilian. Wartime recruits also come from wealthier neighborhoods than their civilian counterparts, on average. And the force has been trending towards wealthier troops and smarter troops since the war in Iraq began in 2003.

Kane'i uurimusega Who Are the Recruits? The Demographic Characteristics of U.S. Military Enlistment, 2003–2005 võib iga teemast huvitatu ise tutvuda.

Lõpetuseks lisaks veel viited paarile uurimusele, mis lahkavad USA sõjaväe koosseisu ja värbamist:

1. Jerald G. Bachman, Peter Freedman-Doan, Patrick M. O'Malley, "Should U.S. Military Recruiters Write Off the College-Bound?" Armed Forces & Society 27 (July 2001): 461 - 476:

This article examines trends and relationships involving high school seniors' military service plans, their college plans, and their actual entry into military service. Cross-sectional and longitudinal data from the Monitoring the Future project show that, although individuals planning to complete college are less likely than average to plan on military service, the upward trend in college plans cannot account for many of the year-to-year changes in military propensity. Moreover, it now appears that the majority of young men expecting to enter military service also expect to complete a four-year college program. Most important, planning for college does not reduce enlistment rates among high propensity males, although for some of them it may delay entry by several years. These findings suggest that educational incentives for military service are now particularly important, given the high proportions of potential recruits with college aspirations.

2. Meredith A. Kleykamp, "College, Jobs, or the Military? Enlistment During a Time of War," Social Science Quarterly 87 (Juuni 2006):

This article questions what factors are associated with joining the military after high school rather than attending college, joining the civilian labor force, or doing some other activity. Three areas of influence on military enlistment are highlighted: educational goals, the institutional presence of the military in communities, and race and socioeconomic status.
The analysis uses data from a recent cohort of high school graduates from the State of Texas in 2002, when the United States was at war, and employs multinomial logistic regression to model the correlates of post-high-school choice of activity in this cohort.

Results confirm the hypothesis that a higher military institutional presence increases the odds of enlisting in the military relative to enrolling in college, becoming employed, or doing some other activity after high school. Additionally, college aspirations are clearly associated with the decision to enroll in college versus enlist and also increase the odds of joining the military rather than the civilian labor market, or remaining idle. Unlike previous studies, few racial and ethnic differences are found.

Voluntary military enlistment during wartime is associated with college aspirations, lower socioeconomic status, and living in an area with a high military presence.

Viimased kaks uurimust via Daniel Drezner.