America's Military Today: Challenges for the Armed Forces in a Time of War

(Paperback)

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In the face of seemingly unending resistance in Iraq and growing difficulty with recruitment at home, the United States armed forces are under increasing scrutiny from Congress, the media, the public and even from within. Now available in an affordable paperback edition, "America's Military Today" provides an eye-opening survey of the way the modern United States 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 minorities; 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; and the future of war fighting, with its 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 sometimes harrowing and often poignant picture of life at the sharp end of combat duty today.

Reviews

"Fascinating." Los Angeles Times Book Review

"For a general readership, no better primer on this subject exists in print today." Toward Freedom

"A great resource for activists as well as scholars, for young people considering military service, and those currently on active duty . . . well written and thoroughly documented." Z Magazine

Author Bio

Tod Ensign is an attorney and the director of Citizen Soldier, a nonprofit GI rights advocacy group. He is the author of Military Life: The insider's Guide, and co-author of GI Guinea Pigs.