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Q&A: Why ‘Place Matters’ for Military Recruitment [1]

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Date: 2024-11-15

Editor’s Note: This interview first appeared in Path Finders, an email newsletter from the Daily Yonder. Each week, Path Finders features a Q&A with a rural thinker, creator, or doer. Like what you see here? You can join the mailing list at the bottom of this article and receive more conversations like this in your inbox each week.

Over the past few months, as tensions have risen throughout the Middle East in response to Israel’s ongoing destruction of Gaza, I’ve been thinking about the stakes of the accrual of more than 43,000 American troops – about 9,000 more than usual – throughout the region, and what it might mean for rural America more specifically.

Stephen Scanlan is a Professor of Sociology at Ohio University. Rural overrepresentation in the U.S. military is far from Scanlan’s primary research interest, but in 2014 he wrote a paper called “‘Mined’ for Its Citizens? Poverty, Opportunity Structure, and Appalachian Soldier Deaths in the Iraq War.” That paper examines the (slightly) disproportionate death rate for Appalachian soldiers in the Iraq War, and suggests some reasons for it.

Enjoy our conversation about why “place matters” in military recruitment.

Olivia Weeks, The Daily Yonder: What made you want to investigate the effects of spatial inequality on military enlistment rates?

Stephen Scanlan: Growing up in a rural community myself, I was always aware of students taking this path after graduating from high school. When the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were being carried out, my curiosities were piqued from a social justice and inequality perspective concerned with not only the politics and challenges of war and conflict but who was fighting in those wars, and for what purpose. Spatial inequality seemed to be a driver in the past regarding enlistment and I was curious if those structures were still in place now that I was an academic. A 2014 paper by Ohio University Sociology Professor Stephen Scanlan examined the death rate for Appalachian soldiers in the Iraq War. (Photo courtesy of Ohio University.)

DY: You focus a lot on “opportunity structures” in Appalachia and how they might affect a person’s decision to join the military. Can you give an overview of that concept for readers?

SS: Simply stated, this refers to life chances and the ability of one to acquire the education, employment, health, housing, and other necessities needed for a sound quality of life. Some may prefer the language of “the American Dream” and an individual or group’s ability to achieve it. Opportunity structures are historically rooted and can be shaped by a number of factors, with spatial inequality in places such as Appalachia only one example. There are others certainly – class systems, various “isms” tied to race, gender, age, ability, etc. Educational opportunities (quality, variety, etc.) and employment opportunities or the lack thereof are part of it.

DY: You wrote this essay about a decade ago — do you have any sense of how trends in rural and Appalachian military participation have changed? Some of the research you cite shows rural and Southern overrepresentation in the military, but it’s from 1999. Do those trends hold?

SS: I have not been able to keep up with this research unfortunately so I cannot say for sure. Some conversations seem to point in this direction, however. For example, you might take a peek at a New York Times piece from a while back that talks about this. I would venture to guess that from this piece there are similar pipelines for recruits in small towns and rural areas still happening – especially with challenges such as Covid-19 and rural employment opportunities. In addition, with regard to race, enlistment of whites has declined while percentages of Black and Hispanic have increased. This is happening at a time when the Department of Defense is struggling with recruiting and selling their case. If recruits see nothing else, then this likely remains a viable option – especially if it may mean training or a college education that otherwise would not be attainable.

DY: What has the transition to an all-volunteer military force meant for its composition?

SS: An all volunteer force will always disproportionately pull from disenfranchised groups – the privileged are not signing up to fight the wars that elites create. Even with a draft there are ways for those with opportunities or connections to get around that – exemptions in Vietnam showed that. Anecdotally one can see where the recruitment centers are or what high schools recruiters visit. That is a study I have been toying with: mapping the recruitment centers and doing an analysis of the race and class content, education, etc. – the opportunity structures. I am guessing they are not far behind the payday loan offices, plasma centers, and other signs of economic challenge.

DY: In the article you examine the idea of the military as an extension of the welfare state. I think in part because I’ve grown up in a time of relative peace, I see the military and the benefits it incurs on those who enlist as the most functional part of our welfare state. What’s the utility of seeing it through that lens, and what’s controversial about it?

SS: It provides essential needs for individuals who otherwise may not attain them – a way out for some that includes “seeing the world” as the phrase goes. It is an employment opportunity with guaranteed housing, health care, and wages in addition to educational benefits and training and leadership development. Of course, there are many problems military families face when it comes to hunger and housing, and much more is needed. Furthermore, we do not do enough regarding health care, particularly mental health, to assist with the transition to civilian life, nor is there enough to guarantee that the skills you attain are easily transferable to the civilian workforce. The military as an institution can thus do a lot for individuals seeking to enter adulthood.

However, does it have to be the only opportunity that certain segments of the population have access to? Certainly not, and I would argue that many in rural communities could benefit equally if not more from other programs and opportunities – the Green New Deal, for example, would seemingly be a great alternative. Especially since you are not being shot at! Other things regarding the skilled trades, health care work, education and so forth. There are many needs going unfilled regarding services our citizenry needs.

DY: Does any of this connect to your current research? What are you interested in these days?

SS: I still have an interest in military issues and would love to get back to some of this work. It does connect with my current directions in that injustice in a variety of forms drove that question and a number of pathways I am currently on. For example, food justice and hunger issues have always been a big part of my work and there are rural dimensions of that I am interested in. I also do a lot on environmental justice, there are of course rural and Appalachian elements of that alongside the racial, spatial, and class implications. There are also military connections with this as well which could be another way to dive back into the military industrial complex and opportunity structures. I also do quite a bit of work regarding corporate environmental communication and greenwashing of messaging the public receives on the environmental “good” that organizations claim to do but not so much the environmental harms.

This interview first appeared in Path Finders, a weekly email newsletter from the Daily Yonder. Each Monday, Path Finders features a Q&A with a rural thinker, creator, or doer. Join the mailing list today, to have these illuminating conversations delivered straight to your inbox. Join my email list By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time. Processing… Success! You're on the list. Whoops! There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. Please reload the page and try again.

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