The poverty draftĮnlistment in the US military is entirely voluntary, but many veterans and anti-militarization activists claim that the poverty and despair of the US working class is itself a draft. And in February, US Army Secretary Christine Wormuth claimed that last year, the Army fell short 15,000 recruits. Meanwhile, the Navy expects to be 6,000 short, and the Air Force 10,000 short. At a recent House Armed Services Committee hearing, the Army outlined that it expected to fall 10,000 individuals short of this year’s enlistee goal. However, data on military recruitment patterns suggests that the military’s successful appeal to maintain race-based admissions criteria has less to do with diversity than its patterns of preying upon the desperation of the most marginalized.Īn important piece of context is that the US military is experiencing a recruitment crisis at a time when the nation’s leaders are ramping up a Cold War drive against nations such as China and Russia, which could break out into a hot war at any moment. What “interests” could military academies have in employing affirmative action which differ from civilian universities? In an amicus curiae brief filed by the government, the US itself argues that military authorities “have learned through hard experience that the effectiveness of our military depends on a diverse officer corps that is ready to lead an increasingly diverse fighting force.” But notably, the Court left one type of higher learning institution alone in this ruling-the nation’s military academies.Ī footnote to the Supreme Court majority ruling, penned by Chief Justice John Roberts, reads, “This opinion also does not address the issue, in light of the potentially distinct interests that military academies may present.” The court also ruled race-based university admissions criteria to be unconstitutional, which could tank the Black and Brown student populations in higher education. The Court ruled in favor of discrimination against LGBTQ people and voted to keep 43 million people deep in the trenches of student debt. Last week, the US Supreme Court released a slew of decisions that affected the democratic rights of millions.
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