2008 Woodie Awards
The Real Deal: If you like criticizing soldiers, thank a veteran
Paul McNeill
Issue date: 11/7/06 Section: Opinions
Soldiers are not above criticism. No one is. Not Michael J. Fox, not the president, no one.
During a campaign rally for California Democratic gubernatorial candidate Phil Angelides at Pasadena City College on Oct. 30, John Kerry said, "You know, education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq."
While Kerry meant for his words to be a slam against the Bush administration, many felt Kerry was insulting the troops by suggesting only stupid or desperate people enlist in the Armed Forces. The Kerry camp said what the senator meant to say was, "You end up getting us stuck in a war in Iraq."
Even though a former presidential candidate would never intentionally insinuate that soldiers aren't well educated, statistics show many soldiers don't go to college.
As of 1998, only 6.3 percent of enlisted soldiers in the Army had some college education and only 3.7 percent earned a B.A. or higher, according to a study commissioned by that branch of the Armed Forces.
According to a 2005 study conducted by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, after Sept. 11, 2001, the numbers are relatively the same. Around only 10 percent of all enlisted soldiers in all branches of the military have some form of college education, well below the national average.
While many officers do have college diplomas, and the percentage of enlisted soldiers with high school degrees is actually higher than the national average, it's clear many soldiers either can't get into college, don't want to go to college, or don't have the means to pay for college.
It doesn't take someone with a college degree to figure out that the military is not the first choice for many Americans. Of course, many do join because of a heartfelt desire to fight for this country, and many enlisted in the heat of widespread patriotic fervor that spread after 9/11. But for many Americans the military is simply a last resort and a means of escaping poverty.
During a campaign rally for California Democratic gubernatorial candidate Phil Angelides at Pasadena City College on Oct. 30, John Kerry said, "You know, education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq."
While Kerry meant for his words to be a slam against the Bush administration, many felt Kerry was insulting the troops by suggesting only stupid or desperate people enlist in the Armed Forces. The Kerry camp said what the senator meant to say was, "You end up getting us stuck in a war in Iraq."
Even though a former presidential candidate would never intentionally insinuate that soldiers aren't well educated, statistics show many soldiers don't go to college.
As of 1998, only 6.3 percent of enlisted soldiers in the Army had some college education and only 3.7 percent earned a B.A. or higher, according to a study commissioned by that branch of the Armed Forces.
According to a 2005 study conducted by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, after Sept. 11, 2001, the numbers are relatively the same. Around only 10 percent of all enlisted soldiers in all branches of the military have some form of college education, well below the national average.
While many officers do have college diplomas, and the percentage of enlisted soldiers with high school degrees is actually higher than the national average, it's clear many soldiers either can't get into college, don't want to go to college, or don't have the means to pay for college.
It doesn't take someone with a college degree to figure out that the military is not the first choice for many Americans. Of course, many do join because of a heartfelt desire to fight for this country, and many enlisted in the heat of widespread patriotic fervor that spread after 9/11. But for many Americans the military is simply a last resort and a means of escaping poverty.
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