Who would fight: a diverse military

Elsewhere, however, the military is becoming an ever more diverse fighting force.

More Muslims have joined the armed forces during the past decade, for instance. It was in 1996 that the military welcomed its first Muslim chaplain. Muslims now account for about one percent of the total force.

Strikingly, the percentage of enlisted Latinos has almost doubled since Desert Storm.

It's thanks in part to more aggressive recruiting, particularly by the Marine Corps, and a change in Army policy that allows enlistees to submit a high-school equivalency exam in lieu of a diploma.

The average new military recruit is still fresh out of high school and in their first full-time job.

Service members are better educated on average than ever before but still tend to come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. About 40 percent come from the South and disproportionate numbers enlist from states such as Wyoming, Montana, and New Mexico.

For many, the military offers longterm employment.

The average enlisted service member has served slightly more than seven years. About a third of enlisted personnel re-enlist, up from only 10 percent during the draft era. That ensures less turnover but drives up personnel costs, Mr. Moskos says.

The average post-drawdown soldier is older - about 27 years old for enlisted personnel and 34 for officers. That's still younger than the average Air Force B-52H bomber which is 42 years of age.

Some of the biggest demographic changes have occurred in soldiers' lives outside the military.

Unlike soldiers a quarter-century ago, soldiers are more likely to get married rather than stay single. While the population as a whole keeps getting married later, service members are marrying at a younger age. Today, a majority of enlisted personnel and 70 percent of officers are married. That could have ramifications at home if there are US casualties in war.

"It means there will be more widows," says professor Moskos. "Instead of the mother crying, it will be the young bride."

Often, soldiers marry each other. About 12 percent of married enlisted personnel have fellow service members for spouses and 47 percent of married female enlisted personnel are married to military husbands. Dual-military families who choose to have children must worry about who will care for the kids while they deploy overseas - or if they don't come back.

If any segment of the population is missing from today's military, it's the children of America's elites, says Professor Moskos, who, as a draftee, remembers Elvis Presley serving on a similar base 90 miles away. "Can you imagine Eminem joining today?" Moskos asks. "We're having our working class doing our fighting for us."

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