Dedication is visible among new soldiers

In many ways, a portrait of the soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan is a portrait of how the all- volunteer force has changed the military. Demographically, this force has opened the military to more women and, more recently, it has seen a drop in the overrepresentation of blacks. But significantly, it has also created a professional force capable of greater sophistication - partly because everyone wants to be there.

"None of us entered this machine without knowing in our heart of hearts that we may have to go to war," writes Capt. Christopher Connors in an e-mail from Afghanistan. "That is why it is the Army, not the Boy Scouts."

The result is a military that - despite incidents like Abu Ghraib - is more disciplined than those of the past, say analysts. Since the beginning of the war on terror, there have been only two cases of "fragging" - killing an officer - compared with hundreds during Vietnam, says Dr. Ender.

Moreover, soldiers have been able to reprogram their skills to the task required, whether it's fighting insurgents or collecting trash.

"The American soldier of today is more adaptable than the American soldier of the past, in part because America is requiring them to be so," says David Segal, a sociologist at the University of Maryland in College Park.

The American soldier of today is also older and more likely to have a spouse and children than those who fought in the past, particularly in Vietnam. Never before has the military relied so heavily on the National Guard and Reserves, which comprise many older soldiers who join after leaving active duty.

"This military is more deeply embedded in the communities from which it is coming than the one in Vietnam," says Dr. Segal. "More family members are left behind. Employers are losing their workers; communities are losing their soccer coaches."

Yet the trend has shaped the Army as much as it has the communities left behind. Captain Connors saw it firsthand during a stint in Iraq, where the father of two was supporting a National Guard unit.

"The Iraqi people around the Forward Operation Base used to say that these 'soldiers are different than the other ones,' " he writes. "Many [members of the Guard unit] had jobs where they had constant contact with a civilian population, allowing them to learn techniques that did not involve direct confrontation."

To Master Sgt. Lanie Ray Vickers, a reservist, experience also brings a different perspective. Sergeant Vickers served one tour in Vietnam as a draftee and is now in Iraq as a member of the 490th Civil Affairs Battalion. To him, the distinction between the draftees of Vietnam who simply wanted to finish their tour and the soldiers of this generation could not be greater.

"I've talked to many of these kids on their second tour, and they talk about, 'When I reenlist ...' " says Vickers by phone. "When you see that kind of dedication - when they know what's out there - it makes an old soldier like me proud to be an American."

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