Civic Participation: Positive Outcomes of Military Service
By Sven E. Wilson
Making war is one of the most consequential acts that societies engage in, especially for the soldiers involved. We know that a variety of returning soldiers suffer from PTSD, experience difficulties in their intimate relationships, and struggle with disabilities.
But does soldiering produce positive outcomes as well? Our recent work in Armed Forces and Society compares the level of participation in civic groups (such as fraternities, clubs, unions, and veteran associations) among veterans and non-veterans. In looking at the later life experience of veterans from WW2, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, we find that veterans have significantly higher levels of civic participation than non-veterans. This finding holds for both combat and non-combat vets.
These results confirm our hypothesis that military service is characterized by several features that should raise civic participation. For instance, military service members are taught relentlessly the importance of sacrificing for the greater good. They work in teams that include people from disparate backgrounds. They focus on solving problems to accomplish their assigned mission. Why wouldn’t soldiers returning from service carry these “civic skills” into their civilian lives?
Most prior research on civic participation has either rejected or ignored the role of military service. To mitigate the self-selection effects present in the all-voluntary military of today, we go back in time to study veterans who served in the era where men in the United States faced a military draft. Using the National Survey of Families and Households, which was collected in 1987-1988, we find that veterans belong to 21% more groups, and engage at a 19% higher level of intensity that non-veterans. They are particularly involved, not surprisingly, in veteran associations like the VFW or American Legion. But even when excluding veteran groups from consideration, we find a positive association between military service and civic participation.
Because of programs like the GI Bill, veterans had pathways to education not opened to non-veterans, and previous research shows the education is one of the strongest predictors of civic participation. Perhaps access to education explains away our estimates? We think not. Even though our research confirms the very strong role of education with respect to civic participation, we also find that the association between military service and education persists even after controlling for education and other early life variables, such as socioeconomic status.
In other words, regardless of their family background and whether or not they go to college, veterans are engaged in their communities more than their non-veteran peers. Though much remains to be studied about the lives of veterans, military service appears to be a schoolhouse that provides valuable training for participating in civic life.
Article Details
Military Service, Combat Experience, and Civic Participation
Sven E. Wilson, William Ruger
First Published August 27, 2020 Research Article
DOI: 10.1177/0095327X20934885
Armed Forces & Society
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