Does The Phrase "All-Volunteer" Mean Anything?

Cynthia Tucker of the Atlanta Journal Constitution has written a column in which she decrys the unfairness of the all-volunteer military claiming because we don't have a draft that affulent whites are being given a free pass on military service.

I guess the concept of "all-volunteer" escapes Ms. Tucker. In a volunteer force, no one is compelled to join the military. For minorities, they may find the military to be a haven of non-discrimination, and the poorer among us may find the military to be a respectable and reasonable path to middle classdom. But everyone who joins does so of their own free will. In some way, shape or form, they have decided that the military provides the best answer to their needs at this point.

If the military meets the needs of these people - and these people meet the needs of the military - where is the problem? Not everyone is suited for the military. If there is a problem here it is because we are not making the military an attractive option to everyone.

I find Ms. Tucker's assertation that 500 American soldiers have died in Iraq with scarcely a mention to be very odd. The deaths have been examined in almost excruciating detail in the media. In wars past we would hear, say, 25 soldiers died this week - and that, plus a list of their names, would be it. In this conflict (and the peacekeeping that has followed) we not only learn about each and every soldier that dies, we also learn the manner of their death, the events surrounding it, theorizing about failures that may have led to the death, the reaction of the family and friends - all of which stands in stark contrast to conflicts past. Each death is much more personal. And our resolve to make sure that they are not in vain is that much greater.

For Ms. Tucker to claim that we are where we are because of a lack of affluent soldiers is preposterous. We are where we are because of Saddam Hussein and the dithering of previous administrations dating back to 1991.

I would really like to know what Ms. Tucker's solution to this "problem" would be.