Congress Has Fewest War Veterans Since WWII

Less than one-quarter of the members of Congress have a military background, the lowest ratio since World War II 
by Susan Kuczka

Left, Senate Armed Services Committee members John Warner, R-Va., left, and Jim Webb, D-Va., both served in the military.

WASHINGTON — As the debate over the Iraq war rages in Congress, the Capitol Hill office of Rep. Chris Carney, D-Pa., is where fellow lawmakers frequently gather to seek free military advice.

"I think it's because it's somewhat of an anomaly to have a congressman here with a counterterrorism background," said Carney, a Navy Reserve lieutenant commander who serves his monthly weekend rotation at the Pentagon's war room.

Less than one-quarter of the members of Congress have a military background, the lowest ratio since World War II, according to figures compiled by the Congressional Research Service. That fact rankles some critics who argue that most lawmakers who vote to pay for wars and send troops lack combat experience themselves.

Besides Carney, one other congressman goes on active reserve duty while serving on Capitol Hill. Rep. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., is a Navy Reserve intelligence officer who also fulfills his duty in the Pentagon's war room…

"It's a great reality check for me because this allows me to sort of be very in touch with the 2 million Americans who are in uniform," Kirk said as he came off a recent 12-hour overnight shift. "Sometimes you can sense a real disconnect between Americans who wear the uniform and everybody else."

The disconnect also can be evident on Capitol Hill.

While military service used to be viewed widely as a prerequisite for running for Congress, the number of elected officials with a military background has declined steadily since the draft ended after the Vietnam War. Currently, 129 members of the 110th Congress have served in the military, including in the reserves or National Guard. Only one — Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M., the first Air Force Academy graduate to serve in Congress — is female. 

They speak the language

Wilson, a Rhodes scholar who earned her master's and doctoral degrees from Oxford University before serving on the National Security Council, said her Air Force background has been a big help in sorting through acronyms during congressional debate about the military and national security.

"Everyone comes with their own life stories, and when people start talking about banking, I'm very quickly over my head. But for those of us who have worn the uniform, when folks in the military start talking, it's like they're singing a song we knew as children," said Wilson, who sits on the House Intelligence Committee.

In modern days, Congress hit a high for military veterans in the mid-1970s, when nearly 80 percent of federal lawmakers had a military background. From 1951 to 1992, more than half of all members of Congress had military experience, congressional records show.

With the end of the draft and the downsizing of the nation's military heading into the 21st century, the pool of congressional candidates with military experience shrunk. Today's military force represents a fraction — less than 1 percent — of the nation's population. 

"After the end of the Cold War, we declared a 'peace dividend' and shrunk the size of our military 40 percent," said Steve Strobridge, director of government and relations for the Military Officers Association of America. "That decision's being questioned now, when you see how much we're overusing our people. But I think people are realizing now that it wasn't just Russia we were on guard against."

The shrinking pool of congressional members with military backgrounds has proved to be a strain on organizations representing veterans and military personnel.

"You feel like you're in 'Military 101' when they don't even know the difference between the most basic things, like the difference between a brigade and a division," said Jon Soltz, an Iraq war veteran and chairman of VoteVets.org, a group formed to support the election of vets who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. "It makes it real difficult because they're more susceptible to political spin."

The Pentagon also has taken notice. The Defense Department recently conducted a major overhaul of its legislative-affairs office at the Pentagon, the division's first restructuring in nearly two decades.

The makeover included orders to beef up staff of military and civilian workers at the Pentagon to communicate the Pentagon's agenda more aggressively and respond to requests for information from members of Congress while simultaneously learning how to climb the ropes of the legislative branch of government, officials said.

Only six of the 60 new members elected to Congress last year had military experience, and having a military background didn't automatically translate into victory at the polls, according to the Military Officers Association of America.

Of the six veterans who served in Iraq and ran for Congress in 2006, only Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Pa., was elected; he served two tours in Iraq after the Sept. 11 attacks. Others, such as Illinois' Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat who ran for an open seat in west suburban Chicago's 6th Congressional District, came close as voters in traditionally Republican strongholds crossed party lines to support anti-war candidates.

On the flip side, voters looking for candidates promising to end the Iraq conflict nearly capsized the re-election plans of Republican incumbents such as Kirk, who beat a challenge in his north suburban 10th District seat when political novice and marketing consultant Dan Seals made the Iraq war the No. 1 issue.

"Mark Kirk has been an architect, supporter and cheerleader over the last six years of the worst foreign-policy debacle in a generation," Seals said recently. "The fact is we deserve elected officials with the courage and judgment to make America safer, not continue to support a disaster."

Heading into 2008, Democratic Party officials are seeking to recruit candidates with military backgrounds, especially in hotly contested races in California, Florida, Michigan, New York and Ohio, said Doug Thornell, national press secretary for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

"We think it [having a military background] helps both on the campaign trail as well as when you become a member of Congress," he said.

As long as the Iraq war continues to dominate headlines, political experts think veterans could have more success at the voting booth since it's likely more candidates will emerge from their ranks.

Whether more consensus would develop in Congress on tough military issues is debatable. The handful of members with children or extended-family members serving in military — such as Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., and Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del. — have differed on the best course of action in the current campaign even when the safety of loved ones is at the top of their agenda.

Vets don't always agree

The emotional strain of having a son or daughter overseas played out unexpectedly at a White House reception in November for freshman members of Congress. Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., snubbed President Bush after the president asked him, "How's your boy?"

Webb, a Vietnam War veteran whose son is a Marine serving in Iraq, responded, "I'd like to get them out of Iraq," a comment he often had made on the campaign trail. When Bush pressed him, "That's not what I asked you. How's your boy? ," Webb answered, "That's between me and my boy, Mr. President," and abruptly ending the conversation.

While they don't speak with one voice, those who are part of a vanishing breed said they have no plans to walk away from the debate in Congress over the use of U.S. troops.

"I think having a military perspective is important because protecting the nation's security is something you do 24/7, not just some of the time," Carney said. 

New lawmakers with military résumés

Fast facts about the six freshman members of Congress with military backgrounds:

Rep. Chris Carney, D-Pa.: Navy Reserve lieutenant commander and intelligence officer who worked counterterrorism duty in Middle East; defeated incumbent Republican accused of extramarital affair.

Rep. Phil Hare, D-Ill.: Army Reservist for six years who easily won election to succeed longtime boss and former Rep. Lane Evans.

Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Pa.: Former Army captain, 82nd Airborne Division paratrooper deployed to Bosnia-Herzegovina and Iraq; narrowly won election to Congress.

Rep. Joe Sestak, D-Pa.: Retired Navy vice admiral served six tours with Atlantic and Pacific fleets, commanded coalition force in Afghanistan and Iraq; defeated longtime incumbent targeted by FBI in contract probe.

Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn.: Former Army National Guard command sergeant major, he served 24 years and is highest-ranking enlisted soldier ever to serve in Congress; upset six-term GOP incumbent.

Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va.: Former Marine who served in Vietnam War before appointment as secretary of the Navy under President Reagan; defeated GOP rival Sen. George Allen.

Go to original article

"Go to Original" links are provided as a convenience to our readers and allow for verification of authenticity. However, as originating pages are often updated by their originating host sites, the versions posted on VT may not match the versions our readers view when clicking the "Go to Original" links.

(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. VT has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of this article nor is VT endorsed or sponsored by the originator. Any opinions expressed are not necessarily those of VT or representative of any staff member at VT.)