Small-town kids ground up in the War on Terra

Posted by Joshua Holland at 8:32 AM on February 21, 2007.

While we're supposed to support the troops in the abstract -- as symbols -- when we fret too much over them as human beings the hawks are quick to note that it's an all-volunteer army. Unlike the Vietnam era, the argument goes, today's military is not made up of uneducated young people from the inner-city seeking a bit of upward mobility. They're educated and middle-class and they knew what they were getting into when they signed up. They serve out of patriotism, and we should "honor their sacrifice" instead of insisting on their safe return. Here's a paper from the right-wing Heritage Foundation that makes the case.

But there are other demographics to consider. Whereas Heritage looked at median income and race, a study by the Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire [HT: Iraqslogger] found that a disproportionate number of soldiers who have died in Iraq have come from small-town America.

… rural Americans are paying the ultimate sacrifice in disproportionately high numbers. Examination of deaths based on hometown in the Department of Defense records shows soldiers from rural America are dying at a higher rate than soldiers from big cities and suburbs. In all but eight states, soldiers from rural areas make up a disproportionately high share of casualties. The high death rate for soldiers from rural areas is linked to the higher rate of enlistment of young adults from rural America. The higher rates of enlistment in the Armed Forces among rural youth are possibly linked to diminished opportunities there. Transitioning from youth to adulthood is more problematic in rural U.S. because there are fewer job opportunities. Young adults in rural areas are less able to secure a foothold in the economy. Among employed young adults (age 18 to 24) only 24 percent of those in rural areas are working full-time year-round, compared to 29 percent of those in cities and suburbs.

Industries that have traditionally sustained rural people and places--farming, timber, mining, fishing and manufacturing--are employing fewer workers than they have in the past. Communities distant from urban areas and with few scenic amenities are struggling with low incomes, a low skill labor force, limited access to services, and weak infrastructure. Competition accompanying globalization increasingly moves jobs overseas or stimulates increased productivity--in both cases, eliminating the "good jobs" that sustain communities and historically promised young people a future.

The AP reported that almost half of the U.S. fatalities in Iraq have come from towns with fewer than 25,000 people and one in five came from hometowns of less than 5,000.

I don't like to focus excessively on American deaths when these wars have been so devastating on the local populations. But this indicates the degree to which whole communities can be affected by the death of a single soldier. It's not the case in NY or LA -- places where millions live in anonymity -- but in a town with 5,000 people, that loss must have a pretty significant -- and potentially far-reaching -- impact on the community.

Tagged as: iraq, rural america, recruiting

Joshua Holland is a staff writer at Alternet and a regular contributor to The Gadflyer.